But she wanted me to chase her.
She wants me.
I churn the idea in my mind until it is a roiling hot soup of desire and confusion laced with excitement. I’m still not convinced she wantsmy kind. But she wants a mate. She smiled at me. She wanted me to catch her.
The sound of her delighted screech when I scooped her up still rings in my soul, stitching it back together.
I’m just not sure if I’m ready to exposewhoI am to her yet. I need to find out why she isn’t scared of me like the other women were, more so than simple familiarity. I can kill aliens much bigger than a human with one pyretic blast. Still, she trusts me. And that is rare from a human.
“Hey, congrats, brother!” Hatchet shouts as he hikes down from the mountainside in the distance with a female over his shoulder. She is red-banded and pounds on his back with her fists as she squirms and fights his grip. “Oh, shut up. You like it!”
She scoffs loudly enough that I can hear her.
He chuckles triumphantly and slaps her ass. “Behave, female! No other species here will put up with your snark like mine will. It’s me or no one, gorgeous!”
“Just don’t eat me, you oaf!”
Hatchet growls in lust. “Oh, I’m going to devour all of you later…”
She props herself up to glare at him. Hatchet grins back at her, then rapidly flicks his tongue in the air. She makes a noise of surprise and relaxes over his shoulder.
The scent of Brynna is strong, and the pull of her grows harder to resist. She is light compared to the Talhuskin. I’m not surprised one of them invaded the complex. But I am furious that they targeted her. It just proves my theory true. Anyone who helps us has a Talhuskin target on their back.
Hatchet disappears down a hillside that slopes away from us, leaving Brynna and me alone.
“So what’s your name?” she asks.
I glance back at her, but I’m certain I won’t be able to talk for hours. Such a roar damages my throat because I do not use it anymore. It is for monsters, the kind the federation does not want. The kind that are out of control. But I wanted so badly to kill the Talhuskin, and I knew if I did, I’d be removed from the race. Then, I’d lose Brynna forever and be locked in a cell, unable to fight for my kind or lead them home. ABR grounds follow stricter laws, Earth laws. They have police. We do not have enough civilized society for such things. Not yet. We are still trying to survive.
So I had to let my Inferno out, the only other way I knew how.
I try to rasp an apology, but only embers come out. The forest is thankfully damp, so I do not worry about a fire. I’m certain the hoverdrones would put it out if they detected one.
“Oh, can’t talk?” She hums a sad note. “Well, thank you for saving me. I know your kind are at war. I’m Brynna, by the way.”
So she doesn’t recognize me.
Maybe she hasn’t met that many of us and doesn’t know how to tell the difference?We’re usually in suits or armor around her.
“Well, I have to ask, since you probably know I just visited your world, did you save me because you want me or because your people need me?”
I slow as we crest the last hill, and I get a look at the ABR complex. She really doesn’t know.
Easing her off my shoulder, I clutch her tightly as I gently lower her to the ground. Her curvy body slides down my chest and over my aching erection. I’ve been savoring the scent of her pussy close to my face since we left the beach.
“Oh.” Brynna blushes a darker hue that nearly matches mine. “You are packing a hot rod, aren’t you?”
Lust surges through me. I barely manage to control it as I fold myself around her, desperate to map how her body feels against mine and soothe this craving my Inferno has for her. When I find the scent of a Mindor on her neck, a rumble of hatred makes my hackles rise.
“What is it?” she warily asks.
I sweep my nose over her neck, mapping the scent so I can keep my senses open for the male when we encounter him.
“The Mindor? You can smell him, can’t you?” She looks up at me with her big, dark brown eyes and smiles. “Not into pack mates. Or sister mates. So you want me? You’re not just protecting me? I’ve heard how your kind is protective with your females. But it’s, you know, spaceport gossip.”
A smirk touches my mouth.She talks as much as Drathious females.
When I try to respond, the ache in my throat makes me turn away and wheeze out embers again. I shake my head and look down at her. My communication is going to have to be silent, so I gently tap a finger to her chest. Then I hold up two fingers and cross them.
