by Bethany Aan
She heard water running in the shower. Unbidden, the image of him, tall and fully erect, water sluicing down his body, came to her. Her thighs clamped together, her core spasmed, and from the bathroom, Hunter bellowed her name in warning.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
He was taking too long. As she forced the need to make love to Hunter out of her head, the need to relieve her bladder made itself known. And he was taking too darn long. She had to go! She’d needed to go before he had stomped up here and mentally ravished her. Now she was moist and that wasn’t helping the peeing situation at all. She whimpered a bit with the new urgent need.
Well, she’d asked them for crutches, dammit! Maybe after this they’d find her some.
With great effort and not a little bit of pain, she was able to swing her legs over the side of the couch, so that she was sitting on the edge. The medical gown Jace had given her rode up on her thighs, but she didn’t care. She waited for her head to stop the worst of its pounding, waited for the dizziness to pass. Gingerly putting her good foot on the floor, she slowly stood, not putting any weight on the broken leg. Straightening, she grinned proudly but then wobbled as dizziness swept in on her and the world spun. She grabbed for something to hold onto, finding the wall nearby, fighting the incredible vertigo. That damn whomp-whomp-whomp was back in her ears, and her head pulsed as if it was too big for her skull.
Maybe she hadn’t needed to go to the bathroom that badly, after all.
Strong, warm arms caught her before she could slump to the floor. Dammit! She was still so weak! At least someone was there, anticipating her stupidity.
“Stubborn woman!” Hunter’s voice rumbled beneath her ear. She took a deep breath, gathered his scent. Her face went up in flames, in spite of the dizziness and waves of darkness that threatened to close in on her. She felt herself lifted and placed back on the couch. “Need we restrain you to keep from harming yourself? Lock you in a room? Perhaps tie you to the bed?”
“Intriguing thought,” she murmured to herself, hoping that she blocked the delicious mental image before Hunter caught it.
“I need to go,” she told him weakly, when the world had righted itself and she could think more clearly. “Then we can talk about tying me to the bed.”
Hunter wasn’t able to hold back a snort of humor at that, but quickly carried her into the bathroom to do her business. When she emerged, he picked her back up and took her back out to the balcony.
“Arianna,” he began, as though talking to a child. She arched a brow at him and he changed his tone. “What were you doing at the railing? If you had fallen, if a dizzy spell had hit, there would have been no saving you.”
“It’s only four stories, I’ve already proved I bounce, and I was bored.”
“Bored?” he practically roared. “Bored? I about had a heart attack and rushed up here because you were bored?”
“I didn’t ask you to come up here,” she snorted, not meeting his eyes. She was a bit put out that he was so irate at her boredom. What did he expect? She was a bright, clever woman with too much time on her hands. Of course she was going to get into trouble if left to her own devices too long. She sent him that mix of thoughts, then reminded him that he’d been the one to leave this morning and go off for hours without checking on her.
“You were gone for two days with no contact, and then you didn’t stop in to see me when you got back last night,” she muttered. Realizing what she’d just revealed, she clapped her hands over her mouth, wanting to take it back. Hunter dove into her mind, saw how much she’d been hurt by that, even though she felt that she had no reason to be.
He looked disconcerted for a moment, then sighed and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it from its usually tidy queue.
“Ri,” he said softly, touched that she’d missed him and secretly pleased that she thought she had a claim to him. That was good sign. “We are leaders. I need to keep you safe, but I also have my regular duties. That includes training with my men. I was going to be back soon for the midday meal. As for being gone for two days… I was trying to finish up as quickly as possible, so I could return, ironically to be with you. I’m sorry if you feel neglected.”
His rueful grin took any lingering hurt and anger from her. She thought about it then sank wearily into her pillows. Trying to get up on her own had taken more energy out of her than she’d thought possible.
“Look, you have duties and of course, I understand and respect that. We’ve barely known each other three days, so I don’t expect you to check in, even if I want to hear your voice. But I’m not their leader,” she tried telling him again. “They barely even know me.”
“So some of them have said, and you. But it remains that you are the sole Reader among them, as well as the eldest. In our society, that means that you are their natural leader. And several of them do treat you as the wise elder now.”
She barked out a soft laugh, wondering if he had any clue how offensive such a title would be to some women. Wise elder, indeed!
“Well, tell them that!” she snapped, frustrated.
“I have tried. A few still deny it, but they will learn.”
He sensed her bewilderment at his absence and her hurt at his attitude and immediately softened. Reaching out, he tucked a soft curl of her hair behind her ear, holding her gaze. “I am sorry, little one,” he told her quietly. “We returned late last night and there was much I had to do, though my first desire was to check on you. I came to get you as soon as I found out you were still awake. And if it makes you feel cherished, you almost had a bed partner last night. I was loath to leave you alone in Jace’s bed. All I wanted to do was curl up around you and protect you as you slept.”
She sighed happily at the simple romance of that thought, grinning helplessly at him. He grinned a bit sheepishly at her.
“I actually owe you thanks, not this negative attitude. You gave me a good reason to not only rest for a few minutes, but to have a chance to see you once more. I didn’t expect the mental love-making, though, nor to be cleaved in two by Trey’s blunted sword. I will carry that bruise for a week! But those last images, in the shower, did the trick. I am now much more mellow than I was when I first got here. And I absolutely cannot wait to see what your mouth really feels like when you’re doing that trick with your tongue, little warrior.”
She blushed prettily at that, leaning into his hand where it cupped her cheek. Hunter’s heart swelled at the trust and affection inherent in the little action. His entire day became brighter, came back into focus. His energy restored by her touch and smile, Hunter smiled down at her.
“Now that we have settled all that,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and crossing one leather-clad leg ankle over his knee. “Why are you bored, and how can we alleviate this deplorable condition?”
Her naughty brain thought of a way that involved being tied to his bed, but she immediately dismissed it. His arched brow and heating eyes told her that he’d caught the thought, though. His grin told her that he was holding onto it for future consideration. She blinked.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “A game? A task I can do in bed or sitting out there? Help me find somewhere that I can sit and observe your society and how it functions? Crafts? Books? I don’t know! I just know that I’m not used to having nothing to do. If we don’t’ find me something, I’m going to go as bat-shit crazy as Amy already is.”
“Well, we can’t have two bat-shit crazy human ladies on our hands, now can we?” Hunter asked, his eyes twinkling at her with humor. “Now, what kinds of things interest you?” he asked. “We have many different tasks that could be accomplished, but I do not know what skills you have.”
“Well,” she said, taking in all the alien flowers and greenery… er, tealery… as she thought about it. “I can sew, spin, weave, knit, crochet, and I like learning just about all kinds of hand-crafts. Do you have mending that needs doing?”
“Mending, no,” he said thoughtfully. At her disappointed
look, he smiled. “All warriors are taught to sew when they are very young. How else would we repair our clothing, when most of us are on battalion ships for months or years at a time?”
“That makes sense,” she murmured, but felt deflated. Nothing useful for her there. “I’m a quick learner, though. If you show me how to do one of your crafts, I’m sure I can pick it up quickly and have fun learning it.”
“I have no doubt you could, little one. But,” he said, rising to his feet. Man, he was tall! Her mouth was at a very interesting level. “I think that you enjoy texture and fiber crafts. I believe I can help you.”
He went into what she thought might be his bedroom and was gone for several long moments. She stared around at all the beautiful foliage. The plants of this world were incredible. Such colors! She loved that the leaves were predominantly teal. Some were deep purple, but mostly, the vegetation held various shades of teal, aqua, turquoise… anything within that color family. There were some plants like nothing she had ever seen before, and could not even begin to describe. Other plants were oddly familiar, but colored unlike anything back on earth. Tendrils and vines climbed over and wrapped around each other with abandon, blending the flowers and fruits with the teal background. Her breath caught at the beauty of it all.
Overhead, vines hung with big, grape-like three-lobed fruits bounced in the breeze, while baskets lined the front of the little porch, flowers exploding out of them. There was even a little formal garden that she thought might be for food, and the entire wall behind it was lined with miniature versions of the balcony itself, little stone wells supported by small wooden beams, each one growing with something different. Herbs? Spices? She wanted to know about it, all of it!
She was so caught up in studying a particular bloom and its iridescent colors that she didn’t hear Hunter’s return. He watched her for a moment, struck by the wonder and the enjoyment in her gaze as she took in the beauty of his garden. He and Jace had worked very hard at creating a small oasis for themselves here, along with an area to grow food items that they particularly enjoyed and wanted to be sure to have access to when they wanted it. He smiled when Ri cocked her head to the side, leaning forward until her broken ribs made her hiss, so that she could get a better look at one of the flowering vines. He sensed her love of the colors and the life, her vibrant curiosity about everything his world had to offer. He swallowed, realizing that he didn’t need to come up with an excuse to keep her near. She could stay as long as he was willing to teach her about the planet she’d crashed on. He swelled with the knowledge that he had years’ worth of information to impart.
“Here,” he said, plopping a basket in her lap. She blinked down at the large basket then cried out in delight.
“It’s so soft!” she said, burying her hands in the mounds of fiber he’d brought her. Kimi fur, and so many colors of it, too! Black, brown, gray, cream, white, and a shade of blue that she could only call gunmetal, for lack of a better word. There were golds, oranges, and some deep reds, as well. Having seen the little critters, she knew that they came in all colors but greens and purples. She narrowed her gaze thoughtfully on the trees in the distance, wondering if she could get teal and purple dyes from the plants around her.
“The fur is from one of the indigenous creatures, whom I believe you might have already met,” he told her, smiling as he sat back down. “We know how to spin fiber into yarn, but there are other, more important things that we have to see to during the spring, summer and fall months, when the weather permits. But the kimis shed in tufts that can be gathered and stored, and they adore being petted and combed, so we often have many of them around, begging for attention. Some of the men have even taken them as pets. Most of us are far too busy to see to the weaving much of the year, though we have all learned to spin a bit in our free time and during poor weather when the training fields are soaked and we cannot build, garden, or hunt.”
As she dug into the fibers and started separating the colors, he continued, as though he knew she was absorbed in her fiber-geekiness, but was also paying attention to him.
“The winters are harsh here, so when the harvests are in, we spin and weave garments from this fur. Your blanket is made from it. It is frustrating, though because we must sew clothing in layers because the yarn and weaving tends to be so fine and thin.”
“Why not just ply the yarn to make it thicker, then knit or crochet it?” she asked, tilting her head to the side to brush her cheek with a handful of the fluffy stuff. She could sit and pet it all day long. “Both make a thicker, more insulating fabric, and they don’t require a large loom.”
“We have tried plying it, but the fibers are so slick that they barely hold to each other. But perhaps we can figure something else out. What are knitting and crocheting? Tell me of these, and the tools you would need,” he ordered with genuine interest, leaning forward eagerly with his elbows on his knees, his hands dangling between them. She described the techniques and basic equipment to him.
He thought about it for a bit then nodded decisively. “I will procure you the necessary equipment,” he promised. “In the meantime, you said you know how to spin, correct?”
“Yes, with a hand spindle. I could make one, if you have some wood… I made a whorl out of a biscuit, but it’s back at the dorm.”
“A biscuit?” he asked, rearing back slightly, affronted. “Why would you waste food like that?”
“Hunter,” she sighed and gave him an ironic look, “It’s only really food if one is able to eat it. Those hockey pucks you call biscuits are impossible to eat for us.”
“They’re perfectly fine,” he said, scowling, his face going red. “We don’t have any problems with them.”
“Then you have razor-sharp teeth and incredibly strong jaws, which makes me think twice about letting you near my nibbly-bits with your mouth.”
“Maybe the rolls could use a little leavening,” he quickly back-pedaled, making her grin impishly at him. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “They are rather hard, but we tend to dunk them in fruit juices to soak while we’re eating the rest of our meal, then eat the biscuits as a sort of dessert.”
“Oh!” she breathed. “That makes a lot more sense. And with the biscuit in the juice, maybe it wouldn’t make us nearly as tipsy.”
“It makes you drunk?” he asked in surprise, his smile growing a bit wicked. She glared at him.
“Yes, and you’re a gentleman, Hunter, so don’t think of getting me drunk and having your way with me.”
“I don’t have to get you drunk for that,” he reminded her softly. She colored and looked away, biting her lower lip. He had some mercy, though, and changed the subject back to spinning yarn.
“It is unnecessary to maul your dinner to make tools,” he assured her, chuckling. “Though I do admire your ingenuity.”
He dug through the basket until he pulled out a top-whorl hand spindle that was meant for lace-weight yarn or even thread. She would probably need a heavier one to do the plying she’d been talking about, but that could wait for a bit. Hunter shook his head. “You are welcome to try to make a thicker yarn. If you are able to do so, please share the knowledge. Our best spinners have been scratching their heads for years.”
He and Ri talked about the vagaries of spinning with fine, short, slick fibers, and Ri found his knowledge of fiber arts to be a bit sexier than she would have thought. They both laughed at her efforts to get some thread started, with Hunter constantly chasing down the escaping spindle. But once she did so, Hunter was assured that she knew what she was doing. He sighed inwardly. Pity. It might have been fun to try to help her improve her technique.
“Have you thought about adding the fur from another animal, or a plant fiber, as a stabilizer for the kimi fur?” she asked after awhile. Hunter arched a brow, but shook his head.
“We have tried many different things, but nothing seems to stick to the kimi except more kimi, so we are limited to the finer thread from it. Fortunately, even a very t
hin blanket is very warm, because of the nature of the fur.”
He sat back on the chair, taking up a spindle himself and working on a different color of yarn than she was spinning. He enjoyed it every time he looked down at his work and she stole a look at him. He sensed her admiration…of him, his varied interests and abilities, his willingness to do something that had long been considered ‘women’s work’ on her home world. It heartened him. For just a few minutes, he let her watch, drinking in the energy she was broadcasting, the hunger for him that was growing within her, even though she was trying very hard to keep it at bay. He knew her reasons for wanting to keep him at a bit of a distance, knew that she felt she wasn’t good enough for him. But she was already hopelessly attracted to him, which he quite enjoyed. He decided to work harder to make sure she failed in the effort not to fall for him.
“It is good to know that you have similar pastimes,” Hunter told her after awhile, relief evident in his voice. “I was thrilled to see that in my absence most of the girls have ventured out and have become more social. I especially applaud your efforts at having them volunteer to help with the chores.” She looked up as he sighed, sensing his frustration. “But from what I understand, there are still some that are refusing to accept their new situation. It appears that some of your women, those who have aligned themselves with Amy, are becoming restless and I fear what they might do to relieve their boredom. I don’t know what to expect from that quarter. A few of the others seem to want to do something, but have no idea how to ask. Now that we know you have similar tasks to our own women, we can at least provide them with something familiar, to keep them busy.”
“Um, Hunter,” she said as he started to stand up. He paused, looking down at her. She hated to burst his bubble. “Not all women know how to spin, knit, and sew. Very few in my culture, in fact. Our world has technology to do that for us. Most people don’t know how to do those things anymore.”
