by Pixie Moon
“You were happy, now you’re sad. What’s wrong, seema?” Din Zar asks as he reaches out and squeezes my hand.
“It’s nothing. I just realized that even here on this beautiful planet, it’s a dog eat dog world. I guess, in reality, every living thing is just trying to survive. No matter the cost to others trying to do the same damn thing.” I really wanted this planet to be different.
Get a grip, Hallie Mead. Zaphin is different. Here, life is teeming with beauty and plenty of food. Be thankful for what you’ve got. That includes your fine ass man, my logical side ruthlessly points out. She’s right, as usual.
Zar pins me with his pretty eyes before he looks back at the path he’s driving down. “You’re correct, seema. From my travels, I know that no place is totally safe. Staying alert gives you a better chance at living a healthy, long life.”
A tremor snakes down my spine as I recall the platform from hell. That planet was horrible. I look out at the lush environment and think of all the good people I’ve met here on Zaphin. This planet it a lot better. But no place is perfect.
I look over at Zar. “What kinds of danger are here?”
His lips press together forming a flat line. He inhales making his vents flutter and then looks at me. “Other beings visiting the planet, rogue zaphinians that want everything handed to them for free, and a few animals. Those three make the jungle a dangerous place to be.” His gaze darkens. “You are not allowed to go out in the jungle alone. Do you understand me, seema?”
Oh, shit. The commanding warrior is back. I know not to mess with him when he’s like this. “Yes, Din Zar.” From my experience in the pecan grove, I know that pretty and lush doesn’t mean safe and secure.
Backpack emerges from a corner of my mind. The pain from the loss of my cloth friend is dimming as I make real friends here on Zaphin. I suppress a shudder as I think about how I could have lost more than Backpack. I could have lost my life.
Zar’s strong hand stroking my neck has me looking over at him. I smile to try to cover my emotions. It doesn’t work.
He inhales and his gaze softens. “It’s going to be okay, seema.”
My lips tremble as I look at his handsome face. “I’m glad you saved me, Din Zar. Thank you.”
The silver strands in his eyes start glowing as a soft growl vibrates through his chest. “You were worth saving, Hallie Mead.”
The look in his pretty eyes tells me he means the precious words he just spoke. A knot forms in my throat and tears well in my eyes. It’s been so long since anyone cared this much about me. I didn’t really think it could ever happen again. Din Zar has proven me wrong. I’m so glad he did. To me, he is no longer an alien but my friend and lover.
Before my overwhelmed mind and heart can come up with a response, a silver blur whizzes down the path and straight for us. My heart jumps into my throat. We’re about to have a head-on collision.
Envisioning our mangled bodies among masses of twisted metal and jungle vines, I close my eyes and scream for all I’m worth. I don’t want to die right now.
A hand clamping onto my shoulder has me jumping as though I’ve been speared by the twisted metal I’m seeing in my extremely active mind. I take a breath and scream as I wait for unimaginable pain and then death. My heart beats a morbid rhythm as the Soul Reaper comes for me.
“Seema, open your eyes,” Zar commands in his most authoritive tone. The scary as shit one.
My eyes burst open. My gaze wildly darts around, the other vehicle is gone and we are in one piece. I pat myself just to make sure. My heart is still beating at the speed of a hummingbird’s wings fleeing a hungry cat.
When my jaw is able to move properly, I ask, “What happened? Why aren’t we dead?” My hand gestures wildly to the jungle around us. “Why aren’t we being eaten by wild beasts?”
His smile is sympathetic with a touch of humor. “Our vehicles are made to avoid a crash. When they get within a certain distance of each other the vehicles automatically separate.” Zar gestures upward. “One goes over the other.”
“Oh.” I feel stupid for freaking out. Then I frown as I realize something. I turn narrowed eyes on my uninformative warrior. “Why didn’t you tell me that would happen?”
A humor filled smile curves his lips. “Because I didn’t think about it.” The ass chuckles. “I’m glad I didn’t. Your response was hilarious, seema. You are a true treasure, little one.”
I glare at him until he has the decency to look at least a little ashamed.
“I’m sorry, seema. I’ll try to forewarn you of things that may shock you in the future.” His gaze looks sincere enough.
Now that my heart has slowed from its death-is-looming beat and since no harm was done, I figure I can forgive him. “It’s alright. I guess it’s nothing new for you.” I place my hand over my heart. “Nothing else bad is going to happen today, is it? I don’t think my heart can handle any more shocking surprises.”
His pretty gaze softens. “No, seema. From here on, the day should be filled with new but good experiences.”
As his gaze goes back to the path so he can maneuver through a turn, I go back to looking out the window.
Orange-striped yellow fruit hanging from a green tree catches my attention. I look deeper into the lush area and see several of the food baring trees among the hugmar trees, purrdot plants, and many other plants I don’t know the names of.
The interesting looking fruit has me wondering about it. “Din Zar, what is the orange-striped yellow fruit?”
“Those are zophar trees. The food those trees produce is more like a vitamin packed vegetable. The taste is very bland but the food has all the nutrients that a zaphinian needs to survive. Humans can survive on the vegetable too. Zophar trees are all over the planet.” Zar slows a little so I can get a better view of an upcoming zophar tree that’s close to the path.
“Those are the size of a coconut shell I once saw on Earth. You say they’re bland? That’s a shame. The colors make it look tasty.” It looks like some kind of sweet fruit instead of bland vegetable. Or better yet, it looks like a big piece of candy ready to be licked.
A chuckle comes from Zar. “In this case looks are deceiving. The trees do serve a good purpose though. They produce food year round. That orange and yellow food source has saved many poor people from starving. It also comes in handy for warriors in the jungle. The negative is that the zophar vegetables also feed the rogues who live out in the jungle.”
We enter a clearing and my eyebrows shoot up. There are several tall glass and metal building all connected by stone paths. Each business has beautifully designed stone steps.
Din Zar pulls the vehicle into a parking lot. I grip my seat as the vehicle lowers to the ground. Zar gets out and comes around to my side. He’s so fast, I barely have time to unstrap from the seat before he’s opening the door. Like a perfect gentleman, he grasps my hand and helps me out.
I look up at the sun. Seeing the pearl colored orb ringed in blue never ceases to amaze me. The sun’s rays feel good raining down on my face and arms. I’m wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of cargo pants. I slide my hands into my pockets and just enjoy the feel of such a normal act.
“Thanks again, for getting these for me, Din Zar.” He’d just given me these clothes this morning.
I still can’t get over the fact that he remembered I’d wanted a pair almost two months ago. Until now, I hadn’t need them. As I watch others move about on the paths, I’m glad he was looking out for me.
Zar is looking good in his fitted dark shirt, pants, and ass kicking boots that have a few weapons attached to them. I wiggle my toes in the soft boots he gave me along with my new clothes. They feel good on but I’m not used to wearing any kind of footwear.
He takes my arm and leads me down the stone path. “I’m glad you’re enjoying the clothes, seema. They look good on you. Not as good as the uniform you wear at home though so don’t get any ideas about wearing these clothes for anything other than o
ccasional visits here and to friends’ homes.”
The edge to his voice lets me know he means business. That commanding sound also triggers some part in my brain that makes me want to do as he says.
He inhales and then growls lightly. “Your submission has a beautiful smell, seema.”
Heat flushes through my cheeks. I’m happy that he thinks my submissive side smells good but I’m a little embarrassed that he can smell it. I wish I could smell his and others feelings. It would make my life easier on my new planet.
The delicious aroma of good food surrounds me and makes my stomach growl. I happily walk up the huge set of stone steps. When I step onto the landing at the top, I see an interesting design. It has a crisscrossing sword and axe with four lines out to the sides and a wavy line under it.
I think about Zar’s steps at home and realize his landing has a knife with stars along the sides and a wavy line under it. The design looks just like the mark on his chest. Since I never go out on the front landing, I didn’t put the pieces together until now.
I point at the artwork and ask, “Do zaphinian landings have a family crest in them?”
“Yes, seema. This one stands for WavTe. You are about to meet Din Ryk’s brother. I expect you to greet him and his family properly,” Zar says in that tone that means business.
Desire swirls around my core. I love that tone. “I will, Din Zar.” The gleam in his eyes tells me he knows what his voice does to me. I like him knowing.
Over Zar’s shoulder, I see a sign high up on the glass and metal building. “Midday and More,” I whisper. A moment later, it dawns on me that the sign isn’t in English. In surprise, I look up into Zar’s pretty eyes. “I can read other languages!”
Zar hugs me to him and chuckles. “Yes, you can, seema. Now let’s go inside so we can eat, little one.”
CHAPTER
31
~ Hallie ~
♥
He clasps my hand and guides me into the building. I can’t help but notice that he hasn’t cuffed me today. Maybe that means he’s starting to trust me as much as I’m starting to trust him.
Covertly, I look around the restaurant as Zar leads me to a pretty blue wooden table. This is a strange new place. Zar keeps my hand in his as we stand near a table.
A moment later, a zaphinian male comes over to us and slaps Zar on the shoulder. To my surprise, a zaphinian female carrying a baby is following closely on the male’s heels. She doesn’t look into Din Zar’s eyes and I wonder why.
When the male turns his green gaze toward me, I immediately hold his gaze and wait for his nod to release me. The male prods my soul for a long moment and then nods. I smile up at Zar as I acknowledge that staring into a predator’s eyes is becoming second nature to me.
My heart warms when he smiles back and wraps his muscular arm around my shoulders. He then pulls me in close to his side. I inhale his unique scent and relax into him.
The baby makes a noise. I look up and into the female’s eyes. She holds my gaze for a second and then nods. I’ll have to ask Zar what that was all about. Am I supposed to look into female zaphinians eyes as well? This is so confusing.
The baby pulling the female’s black hair makes me smile. He’s adorable. I look into his green and gold eyes. He shocks me by looking deeply into my gaze. Damn, zaphinian males truly are born dominants.
Zar rubs his hand up and down my arm drawing my full attention back to him. He gives me a nod of approval and then looks at the couple standing near us. “Din Tymor, Din Zima, baby Sakmor, this is my seema, Hallie.”
Din Zima! I wonder if she’s a warrior too. That would explain her not addressing Zar the way I’d expected her to. It would also explain her holding my gaze for a moment.
Zima looks me over and then grins at Zar. “She’s a pretty little thing. Her scent is interesting. I can see why you’ve taken her in.” A male hurries over to Zima and whispers something into her ear. She nods and then looks at Zar. “It was good seeing you again. Take care of your seema, she seems special.”
I watch in shock as the female walks off. It’s weird to be talked about as though I’m not in the room. Even if the words were nice. Girl, you are far from Earth. That was just a reminder, my logical side wisely points out. Once again, she’s right. Here, I’m not an equal, I’m a submissive. Right now I don’t know if I like my role on this planet.
Zar pulling me down into his lap has me looking around. Din Tymor is gone. Damn, I’m getting soft. I was so focused on my thoughts that I didn’t even pay attention to my surroundings. Too much security can be deadly. I need to remember that.
Din Zar grips my hair with his fist and turns my face so that I’m forced to look into his intense gaze. “I don’t like your scent, seema. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
His tone lets me know I better tell the truth. I blow out a breath and answer, “I’m losing my edge. My place here on Zaphin is changing me in ways that I’m not sure are good.”
“How’s that, seema?” he asks in a soft tone that makes me want to share my feelings. I bet he’s a master at interrogation.
“When I’m with you, I just want to do what you ask. I sink into your will and forget to look around me. I forget to look for predators. That behavior is deadly.” Shame stings my face and weighs my heart down. My parents would be so disappointed.
He inhales and then looks deeply into my eyes. “There is no shame in being a submissive. Here, that quality is cherished. Your job is to focus on my needs. My job is to be alert and keep you safe. Your place on this planet is different, I’ll grant you that, but it’s no less important.” He brushes his soft lips across mine causing me to shiver. “Your place here is more important than the one you had on Earth. Never doubt that for a second, seema.”
Hope floods my heart. He is right. My place here on Zaphin may be different but it’s more fulfilling than anything I’ve ever felt. The love that’s been growing in my soul for Zar just blazed into an all-consuming fire.
His vents and nostrils flare and his eyes glow lightly.
The sound of a group of people entering the restaurant kills the moment but not my new appreciation for being his cherished submissive.
Zar breaths deeply and approval gleams in his eyes. Happiness floods my soul. A baby crying has me looking around for trouble. Maybe my alert side hasn’t totally withered away. I’m glad about that.
Zima bends and picks her demanding son up. She frowns at him and says something into the baby’s ear. From here I can barely make out his returning frown. Whatever his mother said seems to have temporarily gotten him in line. From the look on his face I wonder how long he’ll remain obedient. For a dominant baby that has to be a hard task. So would teaching such a child. I feel a little sorry for both of them.
Thinking of babies has me looking up into Zar’s eyes. I flush as I realize how intently he’s been watching me.
“Go ahead, seema. Ask me your question.”
With flames licking my cheeks, I ask, “Do zaphinians ever get humans pregnant?” The sight of the adorable baby has me kicking myself for not asking this question sooner. Would I want a child that would be trying to dominate me all the time? More like, am I tough enough to handle a child like that?
My heart swells at the thought of having a little Zar around the house. I’m stunned by my own thoughts. On Earth, I never even considered having a family of my own. Girl, that’s because the males on Earth weren’t worth having sex with, much less having a baby with, my logical side wisely says. I can’t imagine having a child with one of the yellow-toothed males from Earth.
Zar is another story though.
Zar’s thumb runs across my lower lip. “There you are, seema. It’s rude to ask a question and then zone out.”
