by Hope Hart
I narrow my eyes at him, pissed off. “You know what I think every time I take a bath or crawl under those warm furs or eat a fucking meal? Those other women may have none of that. We were all taken from Earth, and by the luck of the draw, I ended up with you guys and they got taken by those assholes. They’re tough, but they’ve been gone for a while now. Beth’s a fucking ballerina, for Christ’s sake. They should’ve taken me instead.”
I yank my head again, and this time he lets go, so I move away, getting to my feet.
“You don’t just get to throw your life away because you feel guilty,” he snarls, rising to face me.
He still doesn’t get it. “That’s not what I was doing. I took an educated risk based on my training and the tools I had available to me. You may think that all women are good for is looking pretty in dresses and birthing babies, but on my planet, we’re worth more than that.”
He curses, a word that my translator can’t seem to find. “Do you truly believe I think that way?”
I throw up my hands. I’m not sure how we got to this point, but obviously I’ve got a lot to get off my chest. “Why wouldn’t I? Time and time again, you’ve stopped me from doing shit I want to do because I’m a female. I understand that some of it’s cultural, but you have to see where I’m coming from. I’ve been to war, Rakiz. But because I have breasts, you seem to think that it doesn’t matter.”
He’s silent for a long moment, and then he strides forward, cupping my face in his hands. “I am sorry if I made you feel this way. It is true, I am not used to seeing a female with a sword in her hand. But I do respect you. You have outsmarted my warriors and tracked the Voildi using your superior skills. You are brave and fierce and loyal, and I admire that. But I have a need to keep you safe, Nevada. Never will I allow you to be hurt if I can prevent it.”
I blow out a breath, depressed. There’s that a-word again. It shouldn’t matter. After all, I’m not going to be around here for long anyway. But strangely, it does.
Rakiz’s gaze scans my face, his warm hands still cradling my head. “You mean something to me, female. I don’t understand it, but I need you to know…it is not because you have breasts.” His gaze flicks down and then back up to mine, and this time it holds amusement. “It is because I want you for myself.”
My mouth drops open, and Rakiz doesn’t hesitate. He leans down and presses his warm lips to mine.
Rakiz
The taste of this female, the feel of her body, the way her mouth softens under mine…
I growl against her lips, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her close. I half expect her to push me away, but instead, the tiniest moan escapes her throat, encouraging me further.
She slides the tip of her tongue inside my mouth, licking and playing. She tastes delicious—like the currant fruits she was eating earlier and pure female temptation.
I bury my hand in her hair and hold her right where I want her. This female feels as evanescent as smoke. Like she may just disappear if I don’t keep her close. I want to roar as she shivers, and a hum of pleasure leaves her as she slides her hands around my neck.
Then she’s slowly pulling away, her emerald eyes a dark green. She bites her lip, looking suddenly vulnerable, and it’s this, more than anything, that makes me release her.
“This is a bad idea,” she says.
I nod as if in agreement, and she moves back toward the blanket she was sitting on. I take a deep breath and then blow it out, amusement hitting me. I’m suddenly like a young, untested warrior—hard and ready, my body tense with the urge to roll Nevada beneath me. To make her admit that she wants me as much as I want her.
I have never wanted anything as much as I want the prickly, stubborn female who is currently hunching her shoulders as she picks at her rations, carefully ignoring me.
The fact that she can’t seem to look at me tells me all I need to know.
She wants me too.
I reach into my pack and then pull out my hand, holding it in front of her. She looks up, and I open my fingers, revealing her sweet cakes. Her eyes light up, and she snatches them away, her hands lightning quick.
Somehow, even while fury raged through my body as I packed for this trip, I remembered to bring treats for the female who ties me in knots.
I care for my mishua and then roll out the thick fur that we will sleep on, Nevada’s words running through my mind. While they make me grind my teeth, I can’t blame her for her assumption. But how does a warrior protect a female who doesn’t want to be protected without losing any good feelings she may have for him?
She made her thoughts on this clear earlier. “If you take me back to that camp, I will hate you. I will never stop trying to escape, and I will never forgive you for preventing me from helping my friends.”
Nevada turns, her gaze focused somewhere over my shoulder. “We should get some sleep so we can be up as soon as we’ve got some light.”
I nod, gesturing to where I’ve set up our bed. While I have been caring for my mishua, Nevada has done the same with Kazi, and now she stands with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
“I’ll sleep alone,” she says, and I slowly shake my head, holding back a grin.
“It will be too cold for you with just that thin blanket and no fire. We will need to sleep together for warmth.” I’m not lying, but I can’t deny that the thought of sleeping next to her warm body pleases me. I keep my expression neutral as her eyes scan my face and turn away to hide my triumph when she finally nods, her practical nature winning over whatever reservations she may have.
I’m no longer denying it—to either her or myself. I crave Nevada, and when she is ready, I will make her scream my name in pleasure.
Nevada crawls under the furs, and I take off my boots and then do the same. I snort as she turns her back to me, and then I reach out and pull her close, ignoring her curses.
“Body heat, female. Go to sleep.”
I can almost feel her rolling her eyes, but within a few minutes, her breathing deepens, and she falls asleep in my arms.
Nevada
I can tell I dreamed last night. I don’t remember any of the nightmares, but Rakiz is giving me the same careful look he sometimes did when I woke up late and we ate breakfast together in his tashiv.
His eyes scan my face, and I raise one eyebrow even though I want to grit my teeth. I can control the way I react to most things during the day, although this man makes me act impulsive and cranky, even for me. But at night…
“Go ahead and say it,” I snap, and he glances up from where he’s saddling Racia.
I’m doing the same to Kazi, and she turns her head, narrowing one eye at my tone.
“Oh, give it a rest,” I tell her. “You’d be pissed, too, if you had to deal with him all day.”
Rakiz raises one eyebrow, looking rumpled but relaxed. I feel the opposite and could use another few hours of sleep.
“Say what?” he asks mildly, turning back to the mishua.
“Don’t play with me.”
“Fine. Why do you cry in your sleep?”
I flinch, and the mishua throws her head. Rakiz jolts forward, but I’ve already jumped out of the way. Just like that, Rakiz is no longer the laid-back version of himself. He pulls me close, and I can feel his chest rumbling as he growls at the mishua.
She immediately bows her head, contrite, and I feel my eyebrows almost hit my hairline at the quick change. This is the side of Rakiz that everyone always sees. The tribe king.
He lets me go, and I turn.
“You can saddle the damn mishua,” I say, and surprisingly he does it. The mishua is as sweet as a baby calf, nuzzling him as if looking for his affection. He ignores her, obviously still pissed.
“Are you planning to answer the question?”
I clear my throat. Hiding it just makes it a bigger deal. “Our platoon was attacked in Baghdad—a city in a country called Iraq. We received bad intel about the strength and size of the enemy forces.”
Rakiz finishes with the mishua and gives her one stroke on the nose before turning back to me. The words are harder to get out when those dark eyes are staring into mine, so I turn away, packing up our camp.
“We were ambushed. Three of my friends died instantly. I watched a fourth bleed out while I lay trapped underneath the Humvee. My leg was pinned, so I was just waiting to die.”
I can feel Rakiz move closer, and I’m not at all surprised when he wraps his arms around me. Strangely this gives me the strength I need to keep going.
“I was taken as a prisoner of war with my best friend.”
Rakiz is silent behind me, but his arms tighten slightly, giving me the strength I need to continue.
“Jack was my rock. I’d lost my brother to a drug overdose a few years earlier, although I hadn’t seen him since he’d split when he was seventeen. Jack kind of filled that empty spot. He was hilarious, the kind of person who just brings everyone together, you know?”
Rakiz nods, bending until his chin rests on my head. I’m surrounded by his huge body, keeping me safe from the memories.
I shake off that thought. No. Relying on anyone else is a bad idea.
My tone is business-like when I continue, but I have to wipe my sweaty palms on my pants. I tell myself Rakiz hasn’t noticed, but he will have. He notices everything.
“We were locked up together. I would’ve given them anything they wanted if they had just left him alone.” I finish that last sentence in a whisper, shame hitting me in the gut. Jack was my family, and I failed him.
“If he is the man you describe him as, he would never have blamed you. You understand this, right?” Rakiz’s voice is low, sympathy coating his words.
I nod. Jack’s last words to me?
“Don’t tell them anything, Vada. Don’t you dare say a fucking word.”
They must have known we had nothing to tell them. We were lower enlisted. So they sent the usual video back to the states, threatening to cut off our heads. And when the US government didn’t move fast enough…
“They killed him,” I choke out. “And then they left me there to rot.”
I shrug out of Rakiz’s hold and stride toward the mishua. I can feel his gaze on me as I haul myself onto her back, but I stare into the trees until he finally mounts Racia.
We’re silent for the next few hours, but I’m not stupid enough to think Rakiz will leave the subject alone. The guy is like a dog with a bone.
We reach the edge of the forest, and I stare into the distance.
“At least there’s only one way to go from here,” I say.
We couldn’t be more vulnerable, and I can practically hear Rakiz grinding his teeth next to me as look at the route in front of us.
There are no more trees, no shelter—nothing to hide us from Voildi, enemy warriors, or other predators.
I sigh. “Let’s stretch our legs and have something to eat.”
I’m dying to pee, and I duck around a tree while Rakiz secures the mishua, reaching for rations.
“Where do you think they’re taking them?” I ask when I return, rinsing my hands with some of the water we refilled.
He gives me a look. “Where do you think they’re taking them?”
I raise an eyebrow but pull out my map. He stares at it over my shoulder, and I glance back at his face. He looks torn between laughing and roaring with rage at the sight of it.
“I did my homework,” I tell him.
“I don’t know what homework is, but you prepared well. How did you get this? My warriors know better than to allow you to mine them for information.”
I sniff, refusing to throw Ellie and Vivian under the bus. “I have my ways.”
I examine the map, which has smeared terribly even though I’ve been careful with it. By now, I almost know it by heart though, and I frown down at it. “We’re leaving the Seinex Forest now, right? My guess is that the Voildi took them to Nexia. Is the slave market still dismantled?”
Rakiz is silent, and I glance back to see him staring at me.
“You are a dangerous female,” he says, and I grin.
“Glad you finally recognize. So…is it?”
“I sent Tagiz and Hewex to check—which I see you already know.” He sounds disgusted, and I feel my grin widen. “They hadn’t returned when I left,” he says.
“Even if it’s dismantled, the Voildi could sell them privately, right?”
Rakiz nods. “I wouldn’t have thought a pack of Voildi would have the intelligence to do so, but if they were able to stalk the other pack, steal the women, conceal their movements from my warriors…females are worth much on this planet.”
I nod. “Good. If they’ve been sold, they’re still alive.”
I put away my map, shaking out my legs. I’m not used to riding for days at a time, and my whole body aches.
“Would you have returned to my camp once you found these women?”
I turn warily, heeding the danger in Rakiz’s voice. “Eventually,” I say honestly. “After we rescued Charlie and Alexis.”
His jaw tightens. “And then what?”
“And then we’d have left.” My voice is even, and I throw up my hands. “Is this seriously news to you?”
He narrows his eyes, the relaxed man long gone. I’m staring at the tribe king again, and for some reason, which I can’t quite put my finger on, it pisses me off.
“When I tumble you, you will change your mind.”
I laugh. “Let me get this straight. You think I’ll give up the one opportunity I have to get back to my world for sex?”
He just stares at me, and then his gaze moves over my body insolently. I raise an eyebrow, unwilling to let him see exactly what that gaze does to me.
“Oh, sweetie,” I say with a wince. “You may be good, but no one’s that good.”
To my surprise, he smiles, the look in his eyes promising all kinds of dirty things. The kinds of dirty things that my pussy is hoping he can back up. It’s been a long time.
I glance away. There are more than enough men available to scratch my itch on Earth. Sex with Rakiz would be an incredibly dumb move.
He shifts, drawing my eyes back to him, and I sigh.
“You don’t want me because you desire me as a woman, Rakiz. You want me because you see me as a challenge. Because I’m the only woman you know who isn’t throwing herself at you.”
He grits his teeth. “You’re sure about that, are you?”
“Yeah. So let me be clear. Find that challenge elsewhere. I don’t have time for you.”
He steps forward, eyes darkening, and a shiver runs down my spine.
“Let me be clear. I want you, and I’ll have you. I’m a very patient male. I have time to wait out your hand-wringing.”
Hand-wringing?
This male was put on this planet to drive me insane.
I narrow my eyes but turn away. I know better than to engage with crazy. I ignore his low laugh and get back on my mishua, pushing the thought of sex with him out of my head.
Sometimes a woman looks at a man, and she’s pretty sure the sex would be good. Something in the way he walks, talks, moves, or even just looks at her tells her that he’d probably know his way around her body.
With Rakiz, I know the sex would be better than good. In fact, there’s not a doubt in my mind that the sex would be excellent.
The problem? I wouldn’t just be sleeping with Rakiz. I’d also be sleeping with the tribe king.
I wait for Rakiz to mount, still annoyed that my moody mishua is tied to his. Then we head out into the open.
Chapter Eight
Nevada
We ride hard. If I thought the mishua was a bumpy ride before we picked up the pace, I had no idea what I was in for. At one point, Rakiz glances over his shoulder, taking in my clenched teeth and white knuckles as I hold on for dear life. He opens his mouth, likely to tell me to get onto his mishua with him, and I glower at him. He snaps his mouth shut, sends me a wicked grin,
and picks up the pace.
Wise guy.
We’re sitting ducks out here, and the mishua are behaving like assholes, likely picking up on our tension.
Kazi sidesteps, and I curse. Rakiz growls a warning, and the mishua falls back in line.
“Could you kiss his ass any harder?” I mutter to her, and she bristles, practically vibrating with the need to throw me off. Rakiz narrows his eyes.
“Behave,” he says.
I don’t know if he’s talking to me or the mishua, and I stick my tongue out at him. His eyes darken, his lips curling up at the corners.
“Be careful. I might take that as an invitation.”
Rakiz glances around, and we pick up the speed again. Neither of us want to be out here when the sun goes down. Apparently there’s a small cave used by the warriors when they’re on hunting trips. If we can get to it tonight, we can get up early and move into Nexus before the sun is high in the sky.
That’s the plan anyway.
There are a few trees in the distance when Rakiz slows his mishua to a walk. My mishua follows suit, and I open my mouth to ask what’s going on when I feel it.
“Someone’s watching us,” I say, and he nods.
“We did well to get this far. Let’s feign obliviousness. You are so enamored with your warrior that you have eyes only for him, and I am so determined to have you in my furs that I have no idea of the threat to our safety.”
I laugh, letting the sound carry as if I don’t have a care in the world. I carefully ignore the tiny burst of heat in my chest at the idea of Rakiz being my warrior.
He grins at me, but I’d have to be an idiot to think that his grin is real.
His eyes are hard as stone, vowing retribution to anyone that comes close, and I watch as he lowers his gaze, probably aware that he looks like a serial killer.
