by Presley Hall
Another flicker of sadness passes over her features again, and it makes a painful ache spread through my chest. But before the expression can truly take hold, she banishes it, her lips curving up in a wry smile.
“I’m used to rolling with the punches, Kaide. I got pretty good at that back on Earth. And even though I don’t belong on this planet, I’m not going to cower in fear. I’m not going to hide in the village and let you Voxerans do all the work or protect me all the time. I’m not weak. That’s never been who I am.”
She lifts her chin proudly as she says the last words, and I have to resist the urge to reach out and run my knuckles over the curve of her cheek. Her brown and green eyes gleam with determination as she settles her hands on her hips.
I cock my head a little as I regard her, unsure of what to say. I can relate to her impulse to take control of her destiny, to step forward and meet it head on rather than just letting the river of fate carry her where it will.
“Back on Vox,” I tell her, “I chose Droth’s side in the battle against his uncle when Drokar stole the throne from Droth’s father. It was a dangerous choice, considering that Drokar had already made quick moves to fortify his power and had turned many warriors against Droth and the rebels. But I knew it was the right decision, despite the risks. If I hadn’t taken control of my destiny, I would always have regretted it.”
Raina’s eyes widen a little. I don’t think she expected the conversation to turn in this direction, and she seems a bit taken aback by my admission.
Then she nods, still studying me thoughtfully. “Take control of your destiny. That’s a good way to put it. That’s all I want to do too, Kaide.”
“I know.”
Perhaps she can see me beginning to waver, because she presses her advantage even more. I don’t know if the movement is conscious or unconscious, but she takes a small step toward me, tilting her head up a little to hold my gaze. She’s taller than many of the other Terran women who’ve joined us, but still, the top of her head only comes to my chin.
“I’m not a trained fighter like you guys are, but I do know how to take care of myself, especially in sketchy cities. On Earth, I lived alone in one of the roughest parts of LA, and I handled myself just fine. If you let me come with you, I promise I won’t be a liability.”
A few strands of her dark hair are picked up by the light breeze as she speaks, fluttering over her skin as her scent drifts toward me. My cock twitches, desire sparking inside me as I take in my beautiful, fiery mate.
The impulse to reach out and pull her toward me is strong. The distance between us shrank a little when she stepped forward, and it would be an easy thing to erase it entirely. To press her up against the nearest tree and drop my head to the crook of her neck, inhaling her until I’ve memorized the sweet scent of her skin.
Instead, I cock my head at her, letting a grin tug at my lips. “I’m not worried about you being a liability. I’m worried about you.”
Just as I thought they might, my words seem to put her off balance. Several conflicting expressions move over her face like shadows cast by rustling leaves. Then she licks her lips, clearing her throat.
“You don’t even know me, Kaide. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“But I do worry.” I take a step toward her, unable to resist the pull between us. Our bodies are almost brushing now, and I’m very aware of the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes deeply. “I worry about you. I want you. And I want to know you.”
She hesitates, her tongue darting out to wet her full bottom lip. When she speaks again, her voice is pitched a little lower. “Then let me come with you. You keep saying you want a chance for us to fall in love. Don’t you think traveling together is a good way to get to know each other? We’ll have the entire trip there and back to find out more about each other.”
I make a small noise of surprise in my throat.
She’s right. Having time away from the village in a small group would give us plenty of time to talk, plenty of time for the bond to strengthen and take hold. She wouldn’t be able to avoid me like I know she’s been doing these past few days in the village, finding excuses to slip away whenever I’m near.
Even more than that, I’m struck by the sudden realization that if she doesn’t come with us on the trading mission, I’ll be away from her for many days, even weeks. The thought of being separated from her makes my stomach knot uncomfortably. Despite her attempts to keep some distance between us in the village, I still see her every day, and those small moments of connection feed my soul.
If I leave her behind when I head to Pascia with the others, I’ll miss her.
And here she is, asking to come with me and spend more time with me. How can I deny my mate that? How can I deny her anything?
“All right,” I say, nodding once.
Raina’s mouth drops open slightly before a wide grin spreads across her face. She’s so close to me that I can see the flush of excitement that rises in her cheeks.
“Really?”
“Yes.” I chuckle, unable to help myself. Her joy is infectious, seeping from her smaller frame into mine the same way her body heat does. Then I hold up a hand as she steps back. “But don’t get too excited yet. It’s all right with me if you come, but Droth still has final approval. He picks out the warriors who will go on each mission, and it’s up to him whether to allow you to accompany us or not.”
The happiness on Raina’s face dims for a moment. Then she narrows her eyes at me. “But you’ll ask him? You’ll tell him you want me to come?”
“I will,” I promise. “I’ll do everything I can to get him to agree.”
As I speak, I realize that I truly mean it. Now that Raina has made her case to me, I do want her to come with us. Physically, she’s a bit stronger than most of the other Terrans, and although I don’t know what “LA” is, I believe her when she says she’s had experience keeping herself safe in dangerous situations.
And I’ll be there to protect her, whether she likes it or not.
The Terran woman nods, her smile returning full force as she tosses her hair over her shoulder. Her grin is satisfied, eager, and a little bit smug.
“Good.” She hefts the bag full of chichnas. “We should probably get back to the village. If we hurry, you can talk to Droth before dinner.”
With that, she turns and begins to make her way through the forest, her hips swaying from side to side with her long, even strides.
I gaze after her for a moment, grinning. She’s just as breathtaking from a distance as she is up close, the curves of her body clearly visible despite her loose-fitting, threadbare clothes. My gaze lingers on the roundness of her backside, the dip of her waist, and the determined set of her shoulders before I shake myself out of my reverie and move to follow her.
She was right that we don’t know each other well, but I think maybe I’m starting to understand this stubborn, alluring woman a bit better already. She clearly enjoys a challenge, just like I do.
And although the expression on her face before she turned away from me suggests that she thinks she’s won today, I can’t help feeling like I won too.
7
Raina
Kaide catches up to me a moment later, falling into step beside me as we head back toward the village. I can’t help cutting a sideways glance his way, although I try to be subtle about it.
I can’t believe he said yes.
His initial response was so immediate, so certain, that I was sure I didn’t have a chance in hell of changing his mind. I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge though, so I wasn’t going to let him off easy by just backing down.
And it worked. I’m actually going to be allowed to go to Pascia with him and the rest of the small group of warriors.
Well… if Droth says it’s okay.
Part of me can’t help but wonder if Kaide threw that little qualifier in there on purpose, knowing full well that Droth won’t allow me to be part of the mission. Ma
ybe he just wanted to be able to pin the blame for it on his leader. Or maybe he doesn’t even intend to ask the prince. This might’ve all just been a way to put me off and end the argument, giving him a chance to come up with some excuse later for why I can’t go with them.
I shoot another glance at Kaide, narrowing my eyes suspiciously when I see the familiar cocky smile on his face. I don’t know what he’s so happy about, and it makes me even more convinced that his acquiescence back there in the woods was just a way to get me off his back.
We walk in silence the rest of the way to the village, and as soon as we pass through the gate in the wall that borders the small settlement, I turn to him at the same moment he turns toward me.
“Are you going to ask Droth—”
“Would you like to come with me to speak to—”
He breaks off, and I do too.
“Sorry.” I shake my head, blinking at him. “What were you saying?”
He grins. “I was going to see if you’d like to accompany me to speak to Droth.”
“You’re going to do it… now?”
“I don’t see any reason to wait.” He flashes that infuriatingly sexy grin again. “Do you?”
“No, not at all. After you.”
I gesture with one arm to indicate that he should lead the way. For some reason, this exchange feels like a challenge too, like he’s daring me to admit that I don’t really want to go to Pascia.
We drop off the fruit we gathered in the storehouse quickly, then make our way through the village toward Droth’s hut.
As we near the Voxeran prince’s dwelling, it occurs to me that I could still back out. I could tell Kaide that I was just kidding, that it was just the first thing that popped into my head when he asked what I want, and that I’d rather stay here after all. Maybe that would be the smart thing to do. I’ve been trying to avoid Kaide, and the easiest way to do that would be to stay in the village while he leaves. Maybe the time apart would be just what we need, allowing the initial intensity of this mate bond thing to fade until it’s more manageable. By the time he gets back, maybe he’ll have forgotten all about it.
A strange stab of pain cuts through my chest at that thought, and I shake my head, trying to brush it aside.
Even as I’ve been lost in my internal mental debate, we’ve kept walking, and a moment later, Droth’s hut comes into view ahead of us. Kaide glances at me as we near it, then reaches out and raps lightly at the wooden door.
Charlotte is the one who answers, and her eyebrows twitch upward slightly at the sight of me and Kaide together. She was there at dinner just like the rest of the village when Kaide pronounced that we were mates, and I’m sure she’s noticed the weird dance of avoidance he and I have been doing for the past few days.
I’m grateful as hell that she doesn’t comment on any of that though. Instead, she gives us an easy, open smile.
“Are you looking for Droth?”
“Yes,” Kaide answers. “We need to speak to him about the mission to Pascia.”
“Sure. Come on in.”
She ushers us inside the small hut, and I glance around as we step through the doorway. Droth’s dwelling is a bit bigger than some of the others in the village, but not by much. It only has two rooms—a small living room type area, and a bedroom. Like all of the Voxeran structures, it’s simple but well-built, constructed of wood and sparsely furnished. Charlotte’s been living with Droth pretty much since the moment we all arrived here after our journey from the crash site, and I can see a few little hints of a woman’s touch around the place.
A hollowed out piece of wood serves as a vase to hold several boldly colored flowers that look a bit like lilies. A few unidentifiable animal skins hang on the walls, covering up the bare wood. It’s nothing fancy, but it makes me realize just how much she’s settling in here. This place truly has become her home, in a way it definitely hasn’t for me.
Don’t get me wrong. I have no illusions that I’ll ever return to Earth at this point. Honestly, I don’t even want to.
But that doesn’t make Nuthora my home.
“Kaide. Raina.”
Droth steps out of the small bedroom, nodding to us in greeting before crossing toward Charlotte. He wraps one arm around her in a comfortable, possessive gesture, resting his hand on her hip just above the loincloth she’s modified into a sort of skirt. Her top is made of the same material, wrapped around her breasts in a bandeau style, leaving her stomach uncovered. I can’t see a baby bump yet, but I know it won’t take long. She and Elizabeth are both pregnant—although Elizabeth’s baby is fully human.
“You wanted to speak about the trading mission?” Droth asks, glancing from Kaide to me curiously.
“Yes.” Kaide takes a step forward, coming to stand right beside me, so close that our arms touch. Heat crackles through me as if I’ve brushed up against a hot stove, but I don’t step away. “Raina and I were talking while we gathered chichnas, and she would like to join the mission to Pascia. I told her it was all right with me, but that the decision ultimately rests on your shoulders.”
Surprise passes over Droth’s face, and he turns to me. “Are you sure? Pascia is a dangerous place. There’s a reason we chose to build our settlement so far away from it, out in the wilds of Nuthora instead. The youngbloods occasionally itch for the excitement of a city, but Pascia is a city unlike any they knew back on Vox, and I’m almost certain it’s unlike any back on Terra.”
I think about my dilapidated neighborhood back in LA and almost laugh. There were laws there, but it rarely felt like it, since there were no police around to enforce them. Gang violence was common, and the residents who were just trying to get by learned to look out for themselves and each other in the midst of it all.
But I don’t say any of that to Droth. He doesn’t need my whole life story, and it’s an old habit to keep things close to the vest, only sharing information about myself on a need-to-know basis.
Instead, I glance over at Kaide. The tall, broad-shouldered Voxeran isn’t saying anything, just watching me with that crooked grin tugging at the corners of his lips.
This is it. My last chance to back out. Droth’s reminder about the dangers of Pascia gave me the perfect opening, and I doubt anyone here—even Kaide—would judge me too hard if I said I’ve reconsidered.
But when I turn back to Droth, I already know that’s not what I’m going to say. Because I want to see more of this planet, no matter how dangerous it is. And as much as I hate to admit it, I don’t like the idea of Kaide going without me.
“Yes. I’m sure,” I say. “I want to go.”
The Voxeran prince nods thoughtfully, then tilts his head to look down at Charlotte. Her gaze meets his, and they almost seem to be having a silent conversation. I don’t think telepathic communication is part of the mate bond, but they clearly know each other well enough to be able to guess each other’s thoughts from a single look.
It makes me wonder if Kaide and I would ever reach that level of familiarity if we fostered the bond and encouraged it to flourish. Would I be able to look at him and read his thoughts like an open book? Would he be able to do the same to me?
I can’t decide how I feel about that, so I push the question out of my head and refocus on Charlotte as she transfers her attention from her husband to me. I haven’t known her long—we met the day I woke up from the cryo-pod my own government had stuffed me into so they could sell me to aliens in exchange for advanced tech—but she’s become one of the de facto leaders of the human contingent of this strange little community. We’re not close friends by any means, but I trust her.
“I’m sure Raina understands the dangers,” she says slowly, as if she’s thinking as she speaks. “We’ve all seen firsthand how deadly this planet can be. But if she wants to go, and it’s all right with Kaide and the others, I think she should be allowed to do it.” She glances up at her mate. “We’re all stuck here together, Droth, and none of us asked to be on this planet. In that sense,
it puts all of us—humans and Voxerans—on equal footing. And that includes getting to decide what risks we’re willing to take.”
A fond smile spreads across Droth’s face. Heat burns in his blue eyes as he leans down to press a kiss to Charlotte’s lips. I look away, shifting uncomfortably as a flush warms my cheeks. I’ve never been all that comfortable with public displays of affection, possibly because I’m not very comfortable with affection in general.
Unfortunately, my gaze lands on Kaide instead of the kissing couple, and that’s so much worse. His usually laughing eyes hold an intensity that I’ve only seen a few times and never know what to do with. For a long moment, I feel myself getting lost in the indescribable connection that flares between us, and I only manage to wrench my gaze away when Droth speaks again.
“Very well,” the Voxeran prince says, his voice deep and commanding. “It’s decided then. Raina, you will be part of the mission to Pascia. Kaide, is everything still on track for you all to leave tomorrow?”
Kaide nods. “Yes. We’ve roughly mapped out our route, and we’ll leave shortly after sunrise.”
“Good.” Droth looks at me, and I see something like respect gleaming in his eyes. “This is an important mission for our people, perhaps more important than any other trading venture we’ve undertaken. You’ll be procuring supplies for the village, but more than that, your mission is to find someone who can build a communication device using the diamantum that Jaro and Sadie found. A device that will allow us to communicate off-world, to reach out to our remaining allies on Vox.”
A little ripple of nerves travels down my spine as he speaks.
Droth has seen me handle myself in a fight. Hell, he saw me point a blaster at his head when he and the other Voxerans showed up at the crash site and we weren’t sure we could trust them yet. I know he wouldn’t let me go on this trip if he thought I would be a liability to his men or their mission, but I can also hear the words he isn’t saying right now—that by allowing me to be part of the trading expedition, he’s putting the future of the people he leads in my hands. Not just my hands, but still.
