Bound to the Alien Barbarian: An Alien Warrior Romance (Crashland Castaway Romance Book 1)

by Leslie Chase

  11

  Tessa

  “Oh my fucking god,” I gasped, looking up at Zarkav and struggling to get my breathing under control. “How the fuck did you do that?”

  My muscles burned and my throat ached from screaming. The hard rock under me had probably given me bruises where I’d pressed against it. And I’d never felt better. Zarkav watched me, sitting back and letting me recover, and every time his tongue darted out to taste the air I remembered it playing across my neck, my breasts, my clit. So dexterous, strong, and… something more, something amazing. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  So we’ll just have to try again, and again, until I figure it out. Oh, the hardship. I giggled at the thought, my cheeks heating. But my alien lover had other plans. As I sat up and pushed my hair out of my eyes, he stood and picked up his pack again.

  “Wait,” I said, stammering as I tried to put my objections into words he’d understand. You can’t just fuck a girl like that and abandon her in the woods, I wanted to say. Or, running off now is a dick move, and I don’t think you’re that much of an asshole. Even take me with you had some appeal, though the forest outside terrified me.

  None of them were sentences I knew how to get across in Eskel. Would he understand them in Galtrade? I doubted it.

  I’d learned my lesson about trying to hold him back, though. He’d moved so fast. One second I’d grabbed his wrist, the next he had me pinned to the floor. If there’d been any time in between, I’d missed it completely.

  Instead of fighting him again I struggled up to my feet, pulling my disarrayed clothes back into some kind of order, and stepped between Zarkav and the door. His impatience had left casualties: my bra was ruined and several buttons on my blouse were missing.

  Worth it.

  His eyes watched me closely, colors rippling down the scales of his arms. “You. Move.”

  I shook my head, crossed my arms, and glared. “You are not walking out on me, mister.”

  Brows furrowed as he stepped closer. I refused to move, and Zarkav shook his head, saying something in words I didn’t follow. Perhaps he realized his mistake, because he began miming instead.

  Pointed to himself, to the door. Pointed to me, to the bedroll. To himself, and far away, then back to the door, and finally to the bedroll again.

  Okay, both of us on the bedroll sounded great. The rest wasn’t as good. “You’re going somewhere far away? And then coming back? And then we can share a bed?”

  He looked at me, unmoving. It wasn’t like I expected him to answer my questions. I bit my lip, shook my head, and carried on. Zarkav might not understand me, but speaking out loud cleared my thoughts.

  “No, I don’t think so,” I told him. “Waiting here for god knows how long while you trek to wherever the hell you’re going? I’m not cowering in a cave for days or weeks. And you can’t make me.”

  As though to prove me wrong, he lifted me up, carried me over to the bedroll, and put me down again. Throughout, he paid no attention at all to my protests and struggles. I pouted.

  “Not fair.”

  Zarkav shook his head again, turned, and stepped out of the door. I ran after him, but by the time I reached it he’d tied it shut from the outside. Kicking the door hurt my foot without budging it.

  “Fuck you, Zarkav,” I shouted. No reply came. Kicking the door again produced no more result than the first time I tried it. Heavy wood absorbed the blows easily. I turned, leaning my back against the door and sinking down to the ground. Already the walls seemed to close in on me. Great.

  At least the supply situation was solved. Shelves held containers of food, enough for months if not years. Jars of water, too, though those wouldn’t last as long. Weeks, maybe. Assuming Zarkav really came back, I’d live long enough to hit him when he stepped through the door.

  “Unless I go mad with boredom,” I said to Kitty Fantastic as she faded into existence. Privacy features had caused her to vanish as soon as Zarkav and I were… entangled… which was a small comfort. At least I didn’t have to be too embarrassed about it in front of her.

  She purred and preened and looked at me, smug as only a cat can manage. The privacy mode didn’t stop her from knowing everything that happened — it just switched off the hologram interface. I could have done without the reminder.

  “What do I do?” I asked my white-furred companion. “I’m not joking, if I have to stay in here a month I’ll go crazy.”

  She nuzzled my leg, purring a calming frequency. It helped, took my mind off my dread of being stuck in the cave for months. But that just brought back thoughts of what we’d been doing before that, of Zarkav and his dexterous lizard tongue. And the iron-hard rod under his kilt. And how much I wanted to find out what it looked like, what it felt like.

  “I have to go after him,” I explained to the patient hologram. She looked at me with knowing eyes and I ignored the judgement I saw in them. I didn’t need her to tell me I was looking for an excuse to do what I wanted to anyway. “Sure, yeah, he told me to stay put, but he’s not the boss of me.”

  More’s the pity. There was something very appealing about the idea, something I pushed aside to deal with later. “I’ll worry myself to death waiting for him on my own.”

  “Mrew?” Kitty asked, sitting up straight and alert.

  “Yes, I know you’ll be here too. But only till your battery runs down — unless I get outside, I won’t be able to set up the solar charger. So that gives me—” I checked my wristband, winced “—less than a day of your company. After that, I’ll be alone.”

  Talking it out made up my mind. I pulled myself back to my feet and rummaged around for my ‘skeleton key.’ You’re not used to high tech, Zarkav, I thought with a grin as I approached the door again. The door’s thick wood might protect it from a knife or claws, but not this.

  The field-cutter hummed to life in my hand.

  12

  Zarkav

  Leaving Tessa behind wasn’t easy, but I had no choice. It was for her own good, I told myself. How long would we keep ourselves from pouncing on each other? Even now a fiery passion coursed through my blood, demanding I return to Tessa and take her, claim her, make her mine.

  And it would not be fair to her. Not when she didn’t understand the taru-ma bond, or what exactly she was consenting to. I thanked the Sky Gods that she’d been reluctant at first, if not for that I’d have bound her to me without her knowledge.

  She deserved to make that choice. Everyone did. Even if I knew what her choice would be, it didn’t give me a right to take it from her. No matter how much easier that would make things.

  Stalking through the forest, I tried to focus on the present. I did my best to keep quiet, keep my eyes and ears alert for danger. During the day the forest was safer than at night, but that didn’t make it safe.

  Try as I might, keeping my mind on the work at hand was impossible. Tessa, my taru-ma, my second soul, dominated my thoughts. The wonder of her body, the aching need for her touch, the taste of her… they filled my thoughts and would not leave.

  We should be together. Either I should have stayed with her, or brought her with me. I shook my head, trying to clear that thought from it.

  She’d be safe in the shelter, and she was woefully unprepared for the wilderness. Inside she had supplies, food and drink and healing herbs. She’d be fine for a few days while I walked to the temple and back.

  Assuming I didn’t get caught. Thinking about Tessa waiting for me until the water ran out or the priests found her made me shiver. I’d never feared for my life, but the danger to Tessa downright terrified me.

  She will be fine, I told myself firmly, as though I was reassuring an egg-wet new recruit. Just focus on getting through this safely yourself, so you can return to protect her.

  Sound advice, but easier to give than to follow. Every step further away from my taru-ma made my heart heavier. Fortunately my path took me back towards the humans’ camp, into the zone cleared by the awful sound from thei
r fence. Without it, I’d have been in considerable danger.

  As it was, the forest didn’t hold any threats or even signs of life. Nothing apart from that distant, dreadful sound. I pressed on, lost in thought and emotions.

  The unnerving quiet made the snap of a stick breaking behind me stand out, no matter how distracted I might be. I spun, claws extending, looking for whatever was creeping up on me.

  Instead of a foe, I saw the green of Tessa’s jacket where she tried to hide behind a tree. It wasn’t even a surprise — as soon as I saw that flash of color I realized I’d been waiting for it. Of course she’d ignored my warnings and followed me. Found a way out of the sealed cave, walked through a dangerous forest she didn’t know how to survive, and caught up with me.

  I should have taken her boots, I thought, though I doubted it would have made a difference. She’d have followed anyway, just with sore feet.

  “Come out, Tessa-ma,” I called. “I know you’re there.”

  She wouldn’t understand but she’d hear her name and get the gist of it. I waited, not taking my eyes off her hiding place, until eventually she stepped out into the open, looking delightfully sheepish and mumbling something that was probably supposed to be an apology.

  I waved her closer, trying to think. Sending her back to the cave wouldn’t work — I’d seen her survival skills and if she could follow our trail back to where it started, I’d jump into the well of sorrow myself.

  Take her back myself? That would cost me the full day, and the longer it took me to return to the tribe, the more suspicious the priests would be. We did not need them getting curious about where I’d stayed in the cursed forest.

  That left only one option — taking her with me and finding another hiding spot on the way. I sighed. “It looks like you get your wish, Tessa-ma, though Sky Gods know why you want it. Which doesn’t mean I will let you get away with this.”

  As I expected, she didn’t understand my words. Her grin when she came close both entertained and infuriated me — if her life hadn’t been on the line, her disobedience would have been amusing.

  Torn between a smile and a snarl, I glared at her. Whatever she said in reply, I only caught a few words. ‘Alone’ and ‘no’ and my name, nothing that made any sense.

  When I had the Gift of Words, this problem would go away. Until then, we would have to muddle through with whatever words we taught each other. Despite the danger, it lifted my heart to see her, but she had to understand that what she’d done was wrong. If words would not suffice, actions would.

  I pulled her close, kissed her, let her feel my passion for her. Let her know that I cared in a way no words would ever express. Tessa melted into my arms, kissing eagerly until I pulled back and looked her sternly in the eye. To my surprise, she held my gaze — few hardened warriors managed that.

  “When I give you an order, it is for your safety,” I told her. Perhaps the tone got through, because her cheeks flushed and she looked sheepish.

  Not repentant enough, though. With a quick motion, I turned her and bent her over a fallen tree. Tessa’s outraged squeak almost made me chuckle but this was serious business and I refused to be distracted. My hand landed hard on her ass and she almost jumped out of her skin.

  13

  Tessa

  “What are you doing?” I demanded, but Zarkav’s only answer was another firm spank. Stinging pain and an unexpected warmth spread through me. A strong hand pushed me down and held me in place; my struggles meant nothing to Zarkav, I had no chance of escaping his grip.

  I was helpless. Helpless and vulnerable.

  Helpless, vulnerable, and turned on.

  More slow, hard smacks made me whimper and bite my lip, my breath coming fast and heart racing. The pain faded beneath a powerful glow of need, and when Zarkav released me and let me stand I needed a moment to compose myself before turning toward him.

  “You. Tessa. Tssardz,” he hissed. I didn’t know that word, but from context I guessed he meant ‘bad’ or ‘naughty’ or something like that.

  I nodded, feeling the warmth spreading across my cheeks as I blushed. Working out why he’d spanked me wasn’t hard: I’d disobeyed him and followed him when he’d told me to stay put. Had he dissuaded me from doing the same thing again? Like hell. The only place I felt safe on this wretched planet was by his side, and a spanking hadn’t changed that.

  A sparkle in Zarkav’s eyes, the hint of a grin at the corners of his strong mouth, told me he felt better with me near him, too. He could look stern as much as he wanted, but I saw through it.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to appear contrite, certain I fooled him as much as he fooled me. “I’m sorry that I didn’t catch up with you sooner, and I’m sorry I’m stuck here on this stupid planet with you.”

  Fun fact: when he doesn’t speak your language, you can say whatever the hell you like during your apology. Zarkav nodded, apparently satisfied, and leaned in to kiss me again. Somehow, my stinging ass made the kiss sexier than ever and I reveled in the sensation.

  Fuck, Tessa, how the hell does someone spanking you make his kisses hotter? I stifled a giggle as our lips parted, both of us breathless. Resisting the urge to strip and throw myself at him I adjusted my disarrayed clothing and looked up at him.

  He faced the same struggle. For a moment I was sure one of us would fail, would drag the other to the forest floor. Then he turned away with an abrupt urgency. I sighed, both disappointed and proud of us.

  “Okay, big guy, you’re right,” I said. “Time to go.”

  The journey was anything but boring after that. We walked through the alien forest together, holding hands, and his touch filled me with giddy anticipation. The only time I’d felt this way before was on my first date ever; I had to hope this wouldn’t end up just as disappointing.

  Our restraint continued to amaze me. It took over an hour before our first kiss-break, and we held out for forty-five minutes after that. Then Zarkav grabbed me and pulled me into the undergrowth, leaving me breathless and dizzy for the next stretch of walking.

  Slowed by those moments, the shadows were lengthening by the time he led me to the forest’s edge. Only there did he get back to his cautious and suspicious self, scanning the hilly terrain outside. Purple-blue grass waved in the wind, a great color to hide more of Zarkav’s people.

  I saw nothing, and apparently neither did he because he took my hand and lead me out onto the rising hills. I took a deep breath, wondering where we were going and how far we had to go. If only we shared enough of a language for me to ask questions like that.

  Well, that was one thing I could work on while we walked. Between Kitty’s dictionaries and Zarkav, I’d try to learn their language and teach him Galtrade in return. Focusing on that might also be a bit of a distraction from my attraction to him.

  No it won’t, I admitted to myself as soon as we’d begun exchanging lessons. Not when he has that stupidly hot voice.

  Our lessons filled the day, but eventually the sun dipped towards the horizon, casting long shadows. Zarkav stopped and it was only then that I realized how much my legs hurt. Hungry, tired, throat parched, I looked over the edge of a rocky mound, hoping the end of our journey was in sight.

  Only more hills, climbing towards mountains. With a weary sigh I looked back to Zarkav. Yep, he was settling in for the night, laying out a blanket. Apparently there would be no fire, either that or he expected me to make one.

  No chance. I knew how to start a fire — you used a lighter, a laser, or improvised something that would make a spark. Out in the wilderness without survival gear? Not my thing at all.

  With a sigh, I sat down beside him and took the jerky he offered me. It tasted odd, but it was food and I was too hungry to turn that down. As we sat, eating in silence, a cold breeze washed over us and I shivered. If it got any colder I’d freeze overnight. Why didn’t I pick up a blanket in that cave full of supplies? Why didn’t I bring anything with me?

  That bad decision was
in the past now. I had to move forward. And right now, that meant sleeping somewhere warm. Zarkav didn’t seem to think anything of camping out under the stars, but humans weren’t as tough as he was.

  Or maybe that’s just me? Am I the wimp? I couldn’t imagine Fanwell liking this more than I did, but I tried not to be unfair. He’d been a successful hunter — that didn’t make him a better person, but it was still true.

  I’d found a better man, and probably a better hunter, in Zarkav. He turned his head to look at me, eyes fixing on mine, driving all self-recriminations and doubts from my mind. Pulling me against him, he held me tight and his inner warmth filled my body. I snuggled close, blushing.

  That’s not the only thing of his I want to fill me.

  But it wasn’t to be that night, apparently. To my great frustration Zarkav held me tight, arm around me… and lay down to sleep, his blanket wrapped around both of us. I knew he wanted me, there was no mistaking the way he looked at me or how he held onto me. Even if there had been, there was another gigantic clue between his legs, unmistakable now that I pressed against him.

  He didn’t try to do anything about it, though, even when I ‘accidentally’ rubbed against it with a thigh. His only response was a little shudder that ran through his body, making me groan. Were we really going to go to sleep this frustrated?

  Yes, it turned out. No matter how much we wanted each other, I’d hardly slept in thirty-six hours. And those hours hadn’t been restful either. Attacked by Fanwell, fleeing into the night, being captured by Zarkav, marching through the day and then camping… I barely had time to register my frustration before my eyes shut and sleep closed around me like Zarkav’s embrace.