"Adam!"
Alli ventured deeper into the tight copse of trees and she stopped, stunned when she heard harsh voices conversing. The dark shapes slid in and out of her field of vision but even though she couldn't see anything clearly, she knew exactly what was happening.
Adam's companions had returned for him. He said they wouldn't, but they had come anyway, despite their laws. And he had gone to them.
Of course. Why would he pass up a chance to go home?
"Adam..."
"Alliana!" His voice reached her through a surreal haze. She felt suddenly lightheaded, foolish and alone.
A voice she didn't recognize shouted. "Lead the human away now before she sees us."
"It's too late." It was Adam's voice. "She has seen us. But she won't alert the others."
"She will expose us. We should never have come back for you K'vshtin. Now we could all be in danger because of this creature."
Alli tripped over a root and fell to her knees. The pain jarred her senses and she looked up into the sneering face of a Sha-Shiri. It wasn't Adam. This one looked cruel and hard. His skin was steel gray and his eyes were a cold, glittering blue.
"A female? You've taken a female as a mate?" The gray one hissed something unintelligible as Adam appeared and folded Alli into a protective embrace. She clung to him instinctively but her gaze was on the gray one.
"How do you know?" Alli demanded. "And what business is it of yours anyway?"
"She understands us? What else have you told her, K'vshtin?"
"We should leave, Sa'tarlis," another voice pleaded. "If this one found us, there will be others."
"K'vshtin--we will have to kill her to protect ourselves."
"No!" Adam let go of Alli and rose in front of her. He raised his claws to the gray one and snarled. "She will not expose us."
"Humans cannot be trusted," Sa'tarlis replied. "Get in the ship now and I will dispose of her quickly."
As Alli watched, a weapon appeared in Sa'tarlis' hand. He aimed it at Alli as another Sha-Shiri emerged from the now blinding light. This one was black like Adam but his eyes were tawny gold. Sa'tarlis flicked his gaze in the newcomer's direction, distracted for a split second.
Alli lurched to her feet and turned to run but something hit her square in the back. She sprawled into the underbrush and tasted dirt and blood. A searing heat overtook her as though all of her nerve endings were aflame. Agony engulfed her and the last thing she heard before she blacked out was Adam's strangled cry.
Chapter Twelve
Alli shivered violently as droplets of icy water fell on her neck and chest. She coughed once and the pain that lanced through her almost made her black out again.
A dry croak escaped her lips and a second later she felt a glass being pushed against them. She recognized Adam's warm scent through the haze of pain as he cradled her in one strong arm. She lay against the sleek skin of his chest, boneless and barely conscious.
She looked up into his concerned face as she sucked cool water into her mouth. The first gulp choked her, but the second was ecstasy.
"Thank the stars you're awake," he said.
"What happened?" She tried to sit up but he held her back and brushed the sweat-soaked hair from her forehead.
"My hunt leader tranquilized you. I'm sorry for that. I wish you had stayed in bed the other night."
"The other ... how long have I been out?"
"Two days. It's a very strong tranquilizer. I'm sure he thought it would kill you."
"Two days!" Alli tried once again to sit up but a familiar pain wrung a startled gasp from her.
"I think the tranquilizer pellet cracked one of your ribs," Adam explained. "Lie still." He reached to the nightstand and showed her a tray full of everything from her medicine cabinet, including band-aids and mouthwash. "I don't know which one of these will help you. Point to something for the pain."
She gave him a sympathetic look. Of course he couldn't read the labels and it made him feel helpless.
"That one." She pointed to the extra strength ibuprofen and wished it was something stronger. She hadn't felt this bad since the last time Sid had--
"You've got to show me how to open this." Frustration deepened Adam's voice as he handed her the bottle. "I was afraid the tranquilizer would kill you. We normally only use it on animals we catch to study." There was despair in his voice. "I was considering bringing you somewhere where your people would find you--or trying to transform so I could ask for help, but I wasn't sure I could hold human form long enough."
"It's probably good that you didn't," Alli said as she struggled the cap off the medicine bottle. "In human form, someone might have thought you were my ex and tried to arrest you."
A small growl rumbled in Adam's throat as he watched her spill two pills out of the narrow neck of the bottle. "Why are all these medicines so hard to open?"
"They're child proof."
"I'm not a child."
"Exactly why you can't open them. It's okay now. I'll take this..." She reached for the water, fighting not to wince at the pain. "I'll be better soon."
"I'm sorry, Alliana." Adam held her and rubbed his chin against the top of her head as she settled her back onto the mound of pillows he'd propped behind her. "I never wanted you to get hurt."
"I'm the one who should be sorry." Alli shifted uncomfortably until she found a position that took pressure off of the painful spot in the middle of her back. "You lost your chance to get home because you stayed to help me."
"That's not true."
A new pain flooded Alli. Did he mean that his companions would try again to rescue him? Was there still a possibility he would leave her?
"D-do you think they'll come back again?"
"No. I wasn't going to go with them. I went to the woods when I saw the ship because I wanted to tell them to leave me here. I should have stayed in bed with you, but I felt I owed them an explanation. They risked a great deal by coming back to look for me."
Tears stung Alli's tired eyes at the thought that Adam had given up his world for her. She felt homesick for him and it intensified her pain. At the same time a cold finger of fear tickled the back of her thoughts. Could it be that after so many years of guarding her solitude and her battered heart that she wanted--and needed someone in her life? Could it be that in the short time she'd been with him, her alien hunter, she had begun to love him?
That scared her beyond words. If she loved him, he could hurt her, and she'd had all the hurt she could take for a lifetime.
"You should have gone with them," she said. The words choked her. "You'll never be happy here."
"I'm already happy here, Alliana."
"I need to sleep," she said and shifted slowly away from him. She needed to be alone to think and work out how to deal with this. He gave up his home, his life for her and that was a lot to live up to. How would he treat her if she didn't measure up and he realized one day that he'd made the wrong choice? Would he grow to hate her?
Sid had blamed Alli for all the wrong choices in his life. She'd learned her lesson well from him. She never wanted to be responsible for someone else, not their happiness or their misery. Her own misery was enough to handle.
"Go, Adam," she pleaded. "For a while--let me sleep."
She didn't open her eyes again, but she was aware that he watched her for a while before he finally left the room.
Awash in her despair, Alli cried silently until the painkiller took the edge off her discomfort and she fell into fitful sleep plagued by harsh voices and nightmare images bathed in green light.
* * * *
"Alliana? You need to get up."
Adam's voice brought Alli out of a fevered dream. She woke to pain but not as bad as before. It was warm and bright in the bedroom.
"What is it?"
"Ben is outside. He's banging on the door."
"Shit."
Alli rolled to her side and sat up. Vertigo threatened to knock her over, but Adam was by her side,
helping to steady her as she gained her feet.
She looked at him for a moment, and noted with faint amusement that he'd managed to find the clothes she'd bought for him. Instead of his harness and leather cuffs, he now wore a pair of gray sweatpants. They did little to hide his equipment, however. The sight of his impressive bulge shot desire through her, even though it still hurt just to breathe.
"Go slowly, let me help you."
With Adam's help, Alli made her way down the stairs. Each step was torture. At the bottom, Adam led her to the door, then disappeared into the kitchen. She held the frame for support and pulled the door open a crack.
"Alli!" There was relief in Ben's voice. "Are you all right?" He whipped his glasses off when he saw her and peered into the dimness of the living room. "My God! What happened to you?"
"Flu," she croaked. "Stay back. You'll catch it."
"Christ, Alli. Why don't you let me come in and make you some tea or soup or something..."
"Thanks, Ben, but I'm ... uh ... I've got that new flu medicine that tastes like hot tea with lemon. A few more doses of that and a little more sleep and I'll be fine."
She started to close the door but he caught it with one hand. Her heart thudded painfully. She didn't have the strength to fight him if he insisted on coming in to make sure she was really all right.
"I just came to tell you there were some more sightings in the woods a couple nights ago. I've been calling and leaving messages..."
"Sorry. I didn't get back to you ... I just wasn't up to it. I turned the ringer off." Lie, lie, lie. Someday she'd have to apologize to him for all of this. "More mountain lions?"
"No ... UFOs."
"Come on, Ben. Give me a break ... I'm sick." A convincing sigh and an eye roll did the trick. He laughed.
"I know it sounds crazy and it probably is, but something's going on up in the woods. It could be kids fooling around, trying to scare people, or it could be something else."
"Dammit, Ben, the way I feel right now, the little green men can have me."
"You think I'm losing it, don't you?" Ben's smile was rueful. He obviously thought so, too.
She hated herself, but she nodded. "Sorry. I just don't believe in aliens, Ben."
"Well, you take care, Alli. Keep an eye out and call me if you need me."
"I will." She couldn't wait any longer. She closed the door with a definite thud and leaned against it, panting from the exertion. Adam was behind her instantly. He scooped her into his arms and carried her upstairs. Moments after he deposited her on the bed, she passed out again.
Chapter Thirteen
More than a week passed and Alli remained in bed while Adam took care of her. By the fourth day she stopped feeling guilty about it and started to feel cherished and so very lucky.
When the pain finally subsided, and she'd finished working through all the reasons why it would never work out between them, she knew exactly what she wanted.
It was twilight and Adam had taken the remains of their dinner downstairs. There was little left in the pantry and Alli had already decided that the next day she had to go shopping or they would starve.
She also decided it was time to let Adam know how she felt.
She smiled to herself as she listened to the sound of dishes clanking in the sink as he washed them. He'd learned an awful lot on his own. When he returned to the bedroom, she sat up in bed and began to unbutton her shirt.
He gave her a curious look. "Do you want me to help you change clothes?"
"No."
The ridge over his eyes rose. When realization hit him, she saw him grow hard and it made her want him even more.
"I think it's time you transformed." She told him as she shrugged out of her shirt and slithered out of her panties.
"Transformed? Now?"
"Yes. We've got to get some food tomorrow and I can't do it alone. I'm tired of hiding you. If you're going to live on earth for the rest of your life, it's time you met the neighbors--and we have to work out an identity for you. It won't be easy. In fact, we might need Ben's help."
Adam nodded as he approached the bed.
"What does all this have to do with you being naked?"
"I want you. Now. Like this--one last time before you change."
He growled and her pulse quickened.
"Lie down," she told him. She watched hungrily as he pulled off his sweatpants and settled himself on the bed.
This time, she straddled him, knees on either side of his waist, her hands on his shoulders. The scar from his bullet wound was no more than a faint, pale circle and the weight of her splayed hand on the spot caused him no pain. He was ready.
She stretched across him, letting her breasts brush his chest. She felt his heat, and moisture pooled in her feminine folds as she settled herself against his erection.
She lowered her body inch by inch onto him, rotating her hips in a slow, sensuous rhythm that drew him in until he was completely inside her.
When she adjusted to the feel of him, she reared up, her breasts jutting under his eager hands and she rode him until she came. While the orgasm pounded her internally, she lay across his chest and he held her.
"Can you do it now?" she asked. "While you're inside me?"
"I ... think so." He took a panting breath and clasped her slick body to him. She winced slightly when he rolled her onto her back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."
She caught her breath. "It's okay." He was growing inside her already, thickening toward his first climax. She stilled for the liquid burst and the exquisite ache of his hard thrusts that followed. She clung to him and wrapped her legs around him to keep him close. When the second wave washed over her, he began to change.
He continued to move within her even as his skin lightened and grew slick beneath her hands. His face transformed and he took her mouth in an urgent kiss as she pushed her hips forward to take him in deeper. When she came again, she cried out and he held her while she writhed against him. Her fingernails raked the skin of his back.
"It's done," he whispered when her inner pulsing ceased. He lay across her, his head on her chest, too weak to move at first. She relaxed finally, stroking his hair as their bodies cooled. "It's done."
"You're human now, forever."
"Yes."
"I love you, K'vshtin."
He raised his head to meet her gaze. His eyes were still luminous in the half-light but the face that held them was that of the man she loved. Her alien hunter was gone.
"You told me you couldn't pronounce my name."
"No. You told me I couldn't pronounce your name. I just said it didn't suit you."
He laughed, a rich, deep sound that she felt in her core.
"I love you, Alliana," he said as he kissed her and set about making her ready to accept him once again.
THE END
Hunters Moon Page 6
