by Karen Kelley
“I enjoy the sex very much. I’ll miss it when I return.”
Lyraka laughed. “Ah, yes, there is that.”
A knowing look passed between them. Lara had a feeling Lyraka had a passionate nature that was ready to break free. She reminded her of her cousin Mala. Maybe Aasera would realize that her daughter needed her freedom.
It would be interesting to see what happened. But she would be on Nerak by then. Maybe someday, the Elders would allow travel once more—and chocolate.
Chapter 21
S am stayed at the edge of the woods, watching and waiting, but the only person he’d seen coming or going had been Lyraka. That had been an experience in itself. One minute, no one was around the cabin; he blinked, and there she was standing on the back porch.
He’d heard Aasera, Lyraka, and Lara talking the other day while he’d waited outside. Their words had carried easily on the soft breeze. Lyraka had admitted to some kind of gift—speed or something. He just hadn’t known she meant so fast if you blinked, you’d miss her.
Someone had been watching them. He didn’t think it was Lyraka. But who?
As soon as Lyraka left, he walked back to the cabin, leaving his pole and tackle box on the front porch. He went in through the front door, then to the kitchen where he stood watching Lara. He was careful not to say anything so she wouldn’t jump and mess up something.
She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and reached for another stopper, extracting liquid from a vial. Each movement was precise. He studied her features as she concentrated on what she was doing. She had a heart-shaped face and delicate features.
He grinned. There wasn’t anything delicate about her, though. She was as tough as nails. He kind of liked that about her. She wouldn’t take anything off anyone.
Something must have alerted her that he was there. She looked up and smiled.
“I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You didn’t.”
“More testing?”
Her forehead creased. “Nothing seems to react. I would’ve thought one of your plants would have worked by now.”
“I saw Lyraka leave.”
She raised an eyebrow.
He turned serious, wanting her to know they should be on their guard. “Someone has been watching the cabin. I’m not sure who, but I came across a man’s footprint near the edge of the woods. It might be nothing, but better safe than sorry. From now on, don’t leave unless I’m with you.”
She bowed her head slightly in acquiescence. “Of course. Do you think he offers me harm? That he might suspect I’m Nerakian?”
He could see that she was hiding her fear of this unknown interloper. He would try to reassure her the best he could. “I’m not sure, but don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
“Yes, you are a warrior.” She turned back to her tubes, effectively dismissing him.
He frowned, but she was already lost in her research and didn’t notice. She could’ve at least said thank you, or, you’re my hero. She just assumed he would put himself in danger for her.
Maybe he would, and maybe he wouldn’t.
Damn, would she ever stop being so uppity? He strode toward his room. By the time he got there, his irritation at her was gone.
Of course, she’d known he would protect her. And he would. He was a cop, a warrior like her sister. It was probably just a trespassing hunter in the woods anyway. No one knew about her, and he didn’t have any enemies that even knew about the cabin.
The fact that he probably didn’t need to protect her still didn’t make her any less uppity, though. But perhaps, uppity in a good way.
And now he was stuck guarding her, just in case. Okay, not so bad a deal. He could take her fishing. She could get out of the cabin for a while. He’d already seen that she had to let the chemical sit for a few hours at least before she could do any testing.
He heard her moving about. Maybe she was finished for a while. He hadn’t gotten to go fishing this morning because he had been watching the cabin. What woman wouldn’t love dropping a line in the water? He grinned. She wanted to experience what Earth had to offer. This was the perfect solution.
When he went back to the kitchen, she was standing beside the sink with her back to him, fiddling with something. “Need some help?”
She jumped, then looked over her shoulder.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“I was thirsty, but there isn’t any more juice. I found this…” She grunted. “Got it!” She tossed the cap on the cabinet and turned with a smile on her face. “I found this.” She raised the bottle to her lips.
“No!”
She paused, frowning.
“Put…the…beer…on…the…counter…and…step…slowly…away…from…it.”
“Why can’t I have a drink?”
He took a deep breath. Sweat broke out on his forehead. “That’s alcohol.”
Her face lost some of its color. She carefully placed the beer on the counter and stepped back. Her sigh was visible.
“I didn’t know.”
“I understand completely. I should’ve warned you.” He hurried to her side and took her into his arms. Her body trembled.
“It’s not that I don’t want to make love with you, but maybe not so frequently.”
“It’s okay. I know exactly what you mean. We should pour out the beer.” She reached for the bottle.
“No!” He grabbed it away from her. “What I meant to say was we shouldn’t waste it. I promise to buy you some sodas the next time I make a grocery run.”
“Sodas?”
“You’ll like them.”
“Good. But no beer.”
“Right. No beer.” That tragedy had been safely averted. “Hey, can you take a break? I thought I’d take you fishing.”
“I’d like that. What’s fishing?”
“Trust me. You’ll love it.”
Lara didn’t think Sam was correct in his assumption that she’d love fishing. It all seemed rather mundane to her. She reeled the line in—again. Throw it out, reel it in. What was the point in doing this? Could this be the exercise he’d mentioned?
“You’ve caught on really fast,” Sam commented.
“Of course, I’m a superior being.”
“No, you’re not.”
She glanced his way. He cast his line and began to slowly reel it back in.
“You doubt me? I told you, I don’t lie.”
“I believe you think you’re superior, but you’re not. In fact, I’ve come to the conclusion that we’re the superior race.”
She sputtered, but nothing intelligible came out of her mouth. She cast the line and furiously began to reel it back in. What did he mean Earth people were the superior race? The idea was ludicrous.
“No, you’re not,” she finally told him in a voice that brooked no argument.
“Yes, we are.”
“We have interplanetary travel. You don’t.”
He shrugged. She didn’t like the way he didn’t even look at her. As if it was of no consequence that her people could travel from one planet to the next. She was a healer, and he should show he
r the proper respect.
“We send men to the moon. It’s no biggie.”
She raised her chin. “We don’t have wars.”
“Or passion. You had to build robots just to have sex.”
True, but she didn’t like his implications. “Men killed each other off in their wars. What were we supposed to do?”
He laughed as he tossed his line in the water. “You didn’t do anything. That’s the problem. You stopped living. You dug a hole and buried yourselves.”
“We encourage cerebral thinking, beauty, and peace.”
“And what do you do for fun?”
She threw the line out again and slowly reeled it in. They didn’t have gambling. That had been a lot of fun, but what they did have on Nerak was very pleasant. “We have holograms that will take us anywhere we want to travel.”
“Kind of like your companion units. They’re not real, either.”
“They’re much safer. And we have artists. Dancers that perform each night. It’s all meant to be very calming.”
“Sounds just dandy.”
He was a man. He couldn’t understand. Their planet was quiet and serene…and she was afraid very boring compared to his. But she wouldn’t agree with him.
“We’re still superior.”
“No, you’re not.”
She stomped her foot. “Yes, we are.”
“Have you always had this temper, Princess?”
“I am not a princess. And I don’t have a temper. There was something in my shoe.”
“You’re not dead, either.”
“I’m quite aware of the state of my health.” She reeled her line in, except there was a tug that hadn’t been there before. Like it was pulling back. “Your fishing pole is broken,” she finally said.
“No, it’s not. I just put a new line on it the night before I left Dallas.”
“It doesn’t want to wind back up.”
“You’ve got a fish!” He dropped his pole on the ground and made a grab for hers, but she moved it away from him.
“You gave it to me. I’m not giving it back.”
“But this is the only damn fish that’s even nibbled. Don’t let it get away.”
“Then tell me what to do. As I said, I’m superior. I can do whatever it is I’m supposed to do.” She arched an eyebrow. “Did you growl at me again?”
His forehead wrinkled, but he looked as if he was through arguing. “Slowly reel it in,” he told her.
She’d won again. Of course, she’d known she would. Besides, he was rather handsome when he became upset. She liked sparring with words, especially with him. It created an energy inside her that was almost sexual in nature and very pleasant. It made her quite horny.
“It doesn’t want to come in,” she said.
“Let it out a little then. You want to play with the fish. Let him think he’s winning.”
Ah, much like it was with Sam.
So maybe she would catch this fish just to prove she was superior and could do it. Hmm…she wondered what she was supposed to do when she caught it. Or what a fish even looked like.
“Okay, pull back on the rod. That’s it. Now, let it drop forward and reel it in as fast as you can until it gets tight again.”
“It’s tight.”
“Let it drop forward.”
He came up behind her. She leaned back and for a few seconds forgot she’d felt almost like a warrior as she tried to bring in the fish. His warmth enveloped her in a cocoon when he stood this close to her, and her thoughts were filled with more than catching a fish. No, the fish didn’t really matter any more at all.
“Nope, this is your fish,” he said, again reading her mind. “I’m just here for moral support.”
“I don’t believe the fish wants to be caught.”
“They never do. You just have to let him know who’s boss.”
“I don’t feel like I’m the boss. What’s a boss?”
“Someone who has control.”
“I’m not sure I do.”
“Think of it this way. I don’t think fish have brains, and if they do, then they’re pretty small. Are you going to let it outsmart you?”
Her shoulders stiffened. “Of course not.” She reared back, loosened the line, and then reeled it in.
“That’s it! You’ve got him!”
He grabbed a net and eased to the edge of the bank, scooping it into the water. When he brought it back up, there was a wiggling creature inside. She stepped closer, bending down to observe it.
“Wow, I didn’t think there were any fish left. This one’s at least three pounds.”
“Now what do we do?”
“I’ll scale it, gut it, and fry it up for supper.”
She straightened. “You expect me to eat this…creature?”
“You better believe it. Best eating you’ll ever have. The biggest, most beautiful bass I’ve seen in a long time.” He raised it out of the net with his fingers inside the neck of the fish.
It was still attached to the line. She watched as he wiggled the hook loose. For just a second, the fish looked at her.
“You’ll take its life?” she asked.
“Well, yeah.” He shrugged. “People eat fish.”
“I don’t want to eat it. It looks sad. Does it know you’re about to murder it?”
“No, see, it’s like this…”
She raised an eyebrow, not understanding how it could be anything other than what she’d just said. She waited to see what Sam would do next. She didn’t much care to watch the poor creature’s demise.
He sighed. “Or we could put it back in the water and let it swim away.”
She relaxed. “I think I like that idea much better.”
He mumbled something she couldn’t understand as he returned the fish to the water.
“Will its mouth hurt from the hook? It looked quite dreadful when you pulled it out. I should’ve taken a look to see if I could help ease the pain.”
“I doubt it hurt.” He shook his head, staring into the water. “That was a beautiful fish,” he said as he began to gather their things.
“Yes, aren’t you glad you returned it to its home?”
“No.”
“Sam?”
“I’m glad you’re happy.”
“That’s good enough.” She turned and began the trek back to the cabin. “Thank you for taking me fishing. I enjoyed it very much.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled.
“Sam, I’m hungry. Do you have any chocolate?”
“Nope.”
“What will we eat?”
“I can tell you what we won’t be eating.”
“What’s that?”
“Fish. Beautiful fish filets, tartar sauce, fries, hush puppies…”
“But you let something live.”
“You bet.” He didn’t sound as if he were at all happy with his decision. But she was. Maybe after she left, Sam would have a different feeling for the lives of fish. She’d almost bet he wouldn’t take the life of another one.
M
aybe this was part of her purpose. To save Sam from murdering fish.
Chapter 22
I f Nick ever found out Sam had let a fish go, he would never hear the last of it. Man, that had been a sweet fish. Lara just didn’t understand about some things. Fishing was a part of men as much as breathing.
“I’m ready,” she said.
He’d laid out some clothes for her to wear. It would be fun taking her out to eat, seeing what she thought of a real restaurant.
He should order her fish, then tell her later. Nice thought, but he wouldn’t do that to her. It had been a sweet-looking bass, though.
He turned from the door where he’d been staring out at the night. There just seemed to be more stars in the East Texas sky than in the city.
But when he turned, he saw something that shone even brighter and threatened to take his breath away. All he could do was stare. Had there ever been a more beautiful woman than the one standing in front of him? He didn’t think so.
Lara had brushed her hair until it shone. It fell to her waist in soft golden curls. The dress Kia had packed fit her like a glove—a slinky black glove showing every curve, every indentation to perfection as it fell in soft folds down to her knees. Man, she had killer legs.
It was cut low in the front, baring the curves of her breasts. In the center was a red stone on a chain. It looked like a ruby, but one as big as his thumbnail? It was big enough to buy twenty cabins.
He remembered Kia’s promise stones. Okay, it probably was genuine. It looked real enough the way it sparkled when the light hit it. Big enough that most people would probably think it was a fake, a nice fake but still a fake. That should keep them safe from a mugger.
The stone still couldn’t compare to the fire that radiated from Lara, though.
“You look beautiful,” he told her.
She raised her chin in a way that would’ve made the Queen of England proud. “Yes, I know, even if I’m not supposed to. There’s a mirror in the bedroom.”
