by Luna Voss
After a little while, Borrik lifts his head to look at my face. He smiles. “Merry Christmas, Tessa,” he whispers, looking happy and content.
Chapter Fifteen
“Is it really Christmas?” I ask, surprised.
“I think so,” Borrik replies. “It must be after midnight by this point.”
I smile at him. “Well, Merry Christmas, Borrik,” I say. “I have to admit, I’m having a nicer holiday than expected. You might have had something to do with that.”
He looks pleased by my words. “I feel the same. I had not expected that a human would give me such joy.”
My heart jumps a little bit at his words. It pleases me greatly to hear that I’ve given him joy. I feel so much affection for Borrik, and I know that he’s denied himself happiness for so long. To be the one responsible for bringing him that happiness feels wonderful.
I watch as the Kyrzon gets up and puts another log on the fire. His naked body looks so good in the firelight, the flickering shadows casting his muscles in sharp relief. In most circumstances, I would feel self-conscious about my own naked body, but not right now. Right now, with Borrik, I feel feminine and sexy.
“Will you join me in bed?” he asks, extending his hand to help me up from the floor.
“That sounds lovely,” I say, allowing him to help me up and lead me to the enormous bed in the corner of the room.
I lie down next to Borrik, putting my head on his chest, and I listen to his heart beat as the wind howls outside. I feel more comfortable and content than I have in a long time. The last thing I remember before falling asleep is Borrik stroking the hair out of my face, and the sound of his slow breathing.
* * *
I wake up the next morning alone in bed. I wiggle around for a few seconds looking for Borrik, and then open my eyes, realizing that he isn’t next to me.
He isn’t far. The next thing I notice is the smell of some kind of delicious cooking, and my eyes land on the chief, still shirtless, cooking something in a pot over the fire.
“Breakfast is ready,” he announces, grinning at me. “I know that in Human Territory, you guys are all about the Christmas cookies, but right now, this stew is the best we have. Merry Christmas again, by the way!”
I smile at him, sitting up in bed. “I can’t wait to try it! Merry Christmas to you too.”
It’s at this point that I realize I’m naked. Completely naked. Whatever confidence I may have had last night, right now I feel very self-conscious. Immediately, I feel warmth creep into my cheeks. With my last boyfriend, I would always make sure to keep myself covered by some type of clothing, even in situations like this. It added a lot of stress to spending time with him, and even just remembering how uncomfortable I used to feel in those moments is enough to bring my mood down.
My eyes land on my clothing, strewn across the floor next to the fire. I’m going to have to get out of bed completely if I want to dress myself.
I wait until Borrik’s back is turned, and then I quickly jump out of the bed and rush to where my pile of clothing is. I’m just slipping on my lacy red thong when he turns around and sees me. My face turns bright red, and I rush to cover myself with my hands.
“What are you doing?” he growls, stalking toward me and prying my hands away from my body.
“Trying to be modest,” I say in a small voice.
“You know what I want for Christmas?” the alien rumbles. “I want you to keep wearing that little red thing you have on, and nothing else.”
I shuffle my feet, embarrassed. “What if I get cold?”
“I’ll put another log on the fire,” he growls. “I’ll put every log on the fire if I have to.”
I feel my discomfort easing at his words. It’s insanely flattering, the level of enthusiasm he has for my body. Enough to make most of my self-consciousness melt away.
“Okay,” I surrender, dropping my hands to my sides and exposing my figure. “Have it your way. Merry Christmas, Borrik.”
He steps forward to kiss me on the forehead, and at the same time he reaches around and helps himself to two handfuls of my ass, squeezing my cheeks enough to make my pussy tingle.
“Ready for breakfast?” he asks, keeping one of his hands on my butt possessively.
* * *
Breakfast is delicious, and so is the experience of eating it with Borrik. He keeps staring at me with open desire, and every time I get up or try to walk anywhere in the cabin, he takes the opportunity to grope my breasts or my ass, taking full advantage of how little I’m wearing, and the fact that my panties have a thong back. By the time we’re done eating, I feel like the sexiest thing in the world, and I’m more than a little bit riled up. Any embarrassment about being virtually naked in front of him is gone.
“It looks like the sun is out,” I remark, seeing a beam of light shine through one of the windows. “Maybe that means the snow is melting?”
“It probably does mean the snow is melting,” Borrik confirms. “Let me see if I can get the door open.”
He walks over to the door and tries to push it open. “Hey, I think it’s working,” he grunts. “Just let me…”
With a great push from Borrik, the door swings open, throwing a cloud of snow up into the air.
“All right!” he exclaims, swinging the door shut. “We can leave whenever you’re ready.”
“I think that means I’m going to have to put some clothes on,” I say, wiggling my hips for him to see.
“I suppose so,” he groans, looking disappointed.
Chapter Sixteen
“Where is Murk the slaver?” the chief roars as we enter the castle together. I’m dressed now, and Borrik has his arm around me. We’re going to find Bella.
“The slaver?” echoes one of his men, lowering his head deferentially to Borrik as he approaches. “He left early this morning. A few hours ago now.”
“And what came of the dog he had with him?” Borrik asks. “Is the dog in our kennels?”
“The dog?” the soldier repeats, scratching his head. “You mean the little white one?”
“Yes, the little white one. Where is it?”
“I think Murk took it with him,” says the soldier, frowning. “I know he didn’t leave it here. Actually, yeah, I think I remember seeing him put the dog in his cart. Poor thing was barking a lot. Didn’t seem very happy.”
I turn to Borrik, dismayed. Poor Bella. What would a Kyrzon slaver want with my little dog?
“We leave at once,” says the chief without missing a single beat. He turns to the other Kyrzon. “Prepare a tusk-ox for Tessa and I to ride.”
“Yes, Chief Borrik,” says the soldier, turning around and walking out of the hall.
“We’re going to find your dog,” Borrik tells me, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. “I promise.”
* * *
I ride now with Borrik on the back of a tusk-ox, feeling safe and secure with the chief’s arms wrapped around me. We’re riding in the direction that Murk left in, hoping that the two of us, traveling lightly, can catch up to the slaver and his cart quickly.
I’m both worried about Bella, and filled with affection toward Borrik for his insistence on helping me find her. He really seems to care. I wouldn’t have expected a Kyrzon to be sweet like that.
My feelings for Borrik are so sudden and confusing. Never in my life would I have ever considered the idea that I would wind up having this kind of experience with a Kyrzon. What he and I did last night was incredible. It’s the best sex I’ve ever had. And now here he is, taking charge and doing everything he can to rescue Bella. If he were human, I wouldn’t question my feelings for him at all.
And I’m not here, either. Not really. What I’m questioning is how this relationship could ever work. He and I come from different worlds. Under ordinary circumstances, the only way that humans and Kyrzons ever meet is at the auctions. How could I possibly have a relationship with a Kyrzon war chief?
My parents would freak out. So would my
friends, or what few of them I have. I would, I imagine, have to stay with Borrik in Kyrzon Territory in order for things between us to have any shot.
And that’s a big decision to make after only one night with a guy.
I can’t afford to think about this right now. I have to focus on rescuing Bella. That’s my only priority. My best friend is shivering somewhere, scared, kidnapped by a Kyrzon slaver. I don’t know if he’ll mistreat her, or what he might do to her. All I know is that I want her back.
“I see someone up ahead,” I say to Borrik as we ride through the snowy wilderness, following the merest outline of a trail.
“I see them too,” he confirms. “I don’t see the slaver’s cart, though.”
We ride up to a group of three of Kyrzons walking together through the snow, all of them holding spears. They turn as we approach and point their weapons at us threateningly.
“We mean you no harm!” Borrik calls out, halting his steed and raising his hands to show that he is unarmed. “We seek a trader who has passed this way.”
They don’t lower their spears.
“We may have seen a trader,” one of them says. “What clan are you?”
“I am Chief Borrik, and my clan is my own,” Borrik tells them, puffing out his chest.
The warriors look at each other. “We have no quarrel with Clan Borrik,” one of them says to another. They lower their spears, although they still seem wary.
“Greetings from Clan Drokal,” says the spearman who spoke earlier. “The trader did pass this way. We saw him perhaps an hour ago.”
“You have my gratitude,” says Borrik, and without another word, we ride on to catch the scumbag alien who has kidnapped my dog.
Chapter Seventeen
“We’re really on the trail now,” says Borrik, squeezing me as we ride. “If those Clan Drokal warriors passed him an hour before we caught up with them, he shouldn’t be too much farther ahead.”
“I just hope Bella is okay,” I say, starting to get worried. We’re so close now. I don’t know how I’m going to bear it if anything has happened to my little dog.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” the chief says reassuringly, holding the reins with one hand and stroking my hair with the other. He taps the sword dangling from his belt. “And believe me, when we do find Murk, he’s going to be very, very apologetic about kidnapping you and taking your dog.”
Even as nervous as I am about Bella, I can’t help being charmed by Borrik’s protectiveness. He really is quite the man. I’m so lucky to have met him.
Just unlucky that he’s a Kyrzon.
It starts to snow. Not heavily, but with big flakes that float lazily down from the sky. In other circumstances, I might find it beautiful. Snow on Christmas. I try to focus my eyes on a single snowflake and follow it all the way to the ground. As I do, I notice something. A pair of lines in the snow.
“Look!” I call out. “There in the snow. Look at those lines. Wouldn’t those have been made by the wheels of a cart?”
Borrik slows down. “You’re right,” he tells me. “A tusk-ox-drawn cart definitely passed this way. And recently, too, or the snow would have covered the tracks.” His fingers stroke the handle of his sword. “The slaver must be close.”
Soon, the trees start to thin, allowing us slightly better visibility despite the snow. I scan the horizon, searching for anything that might be the slaver’s cart. For a while, nothing. My heart starts to sink. Will I ever see Bella again?
And then I see something in the distance. Immediately, I recognize it as the cart of the Kyrzon who kidnapped me.
“There he is,” I say to Borrik, tapping his arm. “Up ahead.”
The chief lets out a growl of confirmation and begins riding faster. A minute or two later, we’re catching up to Murk’s cart, and I’m straining my ears for the telltale sound of Bella barking.
“Stop your cart!” Borrik roars, drawing his sword as we approach.
Murk turns and sees us, and it’s as though I can see the cogs in his little brain turning: do I run, do I fight, or do I try to talk my way out of this?
Thankfully, Murk seems to realize that his cart won’t be able to outrun us, and that he isn’t going to win a fight with Borrik. He slows down to a stop.
“Greetings!” he calls out to us. “I am but a simple trader. My name is Murk. Would you like to see my wares?”
We ride up to his cart, and as we get closer, I can literally pick out the moment that the slaver recognizes me. His eyes open wide in alarm. It’s clear that he has no understanding of why I’m here, or what could possibly be happening to him.
“Do you belong to Clan Borrik?” he asks nervously. “I see that you are in possession of the human woman I gifted to the chief. Did Chief Borrik sell her to you?”
Borrik doesn’t bother responding. He trots our tusk-ox right up next to Murk’s, close enough to reach out and touch him. And then, with a sudden burst of aggression, the chief grabs the slaver by his collar and rips him out of the saddle of his tusk-ox, flinging him to the ground. Borrik jumps down from his own saddle and stands threateningly over the slaver, now lying face down in the snow.
“What the fuck was that for?” shouts Murk, starting to pick himself up. His beard is so covered in snow that he looks almost like a giant alien Santa Claus.
“Don’t get up,” Borrik snarls, placing his boot on the slaver’s chest and pointing his sword at his throat. “Where is the dog?”
“The— the dog?” Murk repeats, as though not understanding.
“The little white dog you had with you,” growls Borrik. “In your cart. The dog you took from the human woman.”
“Oh, you mean— you mean that dog,” the slaver stammers nervously. “I don’t have her.”
“Then where is she?” the chief of roars. Murk winces, and I’m pretty sure it’s because Borrik is grinding his boot down on the other Kyrzon’s chest. “You will answer me, or find the snow painted red.”
“Okay!” the slaver croaks, and Borrik removes his boot. “I had the dog with me this morning, but she wouldn’t stop barking. Just whining and whimpering the entire time we were traveling. I was planning to sell her, but it just wasn’t worth the fucking annoyance. I let her out of my cart a while back.”
My jaw drops, and a rage comes over me. “You just let her out into the wilderness?” I shout, struggling to climb down from Borrik’s tusk-ox and rushing over to where Murk is lying on the ground. “You abandoned my dog to be eaten by something or to die in the snow?”
I’m furious and horrified and dismayed all at the same time. If this world is dangerous for humans, it’s downright treacherous for dogs. At least, for harmless little dogs like Bella. As much as I love her, she’s not exactly fierce.
“How long ago did you release the dog?” Borrik growls.
“Not long,” gasps the slaver. “Maybe half an hour ago.”
“That means we have a shot to find her,” says Borrik, looking at me.
“Let’s go,” I reply, relieved, but still nervous.
The chief turns back to Murk, still lying on the ground. “One last thing before we go: apologize to Tessa for kidnapping her yesterday. Or I’ll put my sword through your throat.”
“Come on,” I say, tugging Borrik’s arm. “We don’t have time for that.”
“Five seconds,” says Borrik, still glaring down at Murk. “We’re in a fucking hurry, so you have five seconds. Apologize. Five. Four. Three…”
“I’m sorry!” the slaver shouts. “I’m sorry for kidnapping you.”
Borrik shoots him a lingering glare, but turns away and lifts me up to the saddle of our tusk-ox. He’s about to join me, when he strides quickly back over to Murk’s cart and smashes his sword into the wooden axle, right next to the wheel. The axle splinters, and the left side of the cart comes crashing to the ground.
“Hey, what the fuck!” shouts Murk, watching in dismay as his vehicle is rendered inoperable.
“Now you won’t
be kidnapping any more humans,” Borrik growls, mounting the tusk-ox behind me and putting his hands on my waist. “Or any more dogs.”
And with that, we ride away to search for Bella, leaving the slaver lying in the snow behind us next to his ruined cart.
Chapter Eighteen
“Bella!” I call out into the snowy woods as Borrik and I trot along on the back of his tusk-ox. My eyes scan the trees, searching for any sign of her. “Bella, where are you, girl?”
“Bella!” shouts Borrik, making a cone around his mouth with his hands. “Here, Bella! Here, girl!”
We keep riding, both of us calling out for her. The snow keeps coming down, and as the weather worsens, my apprehension grows. How are we supposed to find a little white dog in this enormous, snowy wilderness? For all we know, she’s already been eaten by some alien monster.
I push the morbid thought out of my mind. There’s nothing to do but continue searching. If Bella is out here, I’m going to find her.
“Bella!” yells Borrik. “Bella Bella Bella! Where are you?”
As time passes, my shoulders start to slump. How long has it been now? Half an hour? 40 minutes? That’s enough time for Bella to have traveled far from here. She could be anywhere.
“I don’t think we’re going to find her,” I say to Borrik sadly, leaning my head back against his chest. “We’ve been searching for so long.”
“Don’t give up hope,” he replies, giving me a squeeze. “We’ll search as long as we can. She might still be out here somewhere.”
We continue to search, and the snow shows no sign of letting up. Soon, our visibility is significantly impaired by the weather. I feel a tear trickling down my cheek as I realize that my best friend is almost certainly gone. At this point, I don’t know how we could possibly find her.
