by Mikayla Lane
Gracus smiled, his mind trying to think really hard of what to say. He hadn’t thought this far ahead and the excuse he’d had earlier about wanting to thank her for saving him just didn’t seem to fit now that he’d tracked her down into the depths of the forest. To his still paranoid mind, it seemed really creepy and he was surprised that she had such a lack of self-preservation that she’d put her gun away.
Rebecca watched the silently staring man and noticed his glassy eyes and the very slight sway of his body and she cursed in frustration as she stomped over to him and pulled him into the clearing where she’d set up her camp for the night.
“Sit,” she said as she led him near the fire and pulled his arm towards the ground to encourage him.
Gracus smiled up at her as he sat heavily, not realizing until that moment that he was tired. More tired than he would normally be and he wondered if it was a side effect of the drug.
He watched Rebecca move away from him and into the tent and took the canteen she came back and handed him. His dry mouth was barely satisfied after several long drinks but he didn’t want to take all of her water. He had his own, but hadn’t thought to stop and drink it. He’d been too intent on finding her.
Rebecca paced on the other side of the fire from him, wondering what the hell Blanche had been thinking to send a still stoned man out into the wilderness, alone, to find her! It wasn’t like her friend to be so careless about someone’s safety like that and she just couldn’t figure out why Blanche would have done it.
But, she couldn’t deny that Blanche had. The man sitting in front of the fire was proof of that. He was too stoned to have found her any other way, Rebecca thought as she watched him still swaying slightly as he sat in front of the fire.
She stopped pacing and threw her hands in the air. “Ok, what the hell did you say to Blanche to make her think it was a good idea for you to come out here? In your condition?” she asked, dying to know what the hell she was expected to do with the guy now.
Gracus shook his head and tried to remember what he had said to the older woman, but it was a little fuzzy. “I don’t remember,” he admitted with an embarrassed grin.
“Oh my God, you’re freaking kidding me, right?” Rebecca said as she stomped around the fire, pissed as hell.
She was still at least two days from where she suspected the cave system to be and half a day from the river and her raft where she could have the fool back in town by tomorrow night if they left first thing in the morning.
Rebecca sighed, knowing she didn’t have a choice. She was going to have to end her trip and take him back to town. There was no way she could leave him out here alone and she couldn’t take him with her.
“I’ll get you back to town tomorrow,” she said with a sigh and couldn’t help but add, “Again.”
Gracus didn’t want to leave her and he didn’t want to go back into town where he knew his people were probably looking for him. “No, I’d like to continue on. I came here to go on a long hike and I intend to do just that,” Gracus said, trying to think of a way to convince her to let him stay with her.
Rebecca shook her head. “You’re in no condition to be hiking out here. You’re still high as a kite!” she accused.
Gracus wasn’t sure what the phrase meant, but he had an idea. “The doctor said the drug is almost completely out of my system and I should be better by morning. I also have all of my gear so I won’t be a burden on your supplies. In fact, I have more than enough for both of us,” Gracus said, desperate to change her mind so that he could stay with her.
Rebecca resumed pacing, chastising herself for even considering taking him along with her. He could be a danger to himself and to her. It would be stupid, she thought, shaking her head, trying to get the idea out of her mind.
Gracus thought he saw her resolve wavering and tried to push her in his favor. “I will not slow you down at all. I will even pay you when we return,” he said and immediately realized it was the wrong thing to say when Rebecca erupted at him.
“Are you stupid? You have no idea where I’m going or how long I intended to be out here! Nor would I take you anywhere, money or not, if I thought you were dangerous to yourself!” She said before a thought occurred to her and she fingered the gun at her back.
“Are you wanted by the law?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.
Gracus put his hands up when he saw her hand at her back, near her weapon. “No! I am not wanted. I swear. I hadn’t had a… vacation, in a very long time and I came out here for a break. The candy…,” he said shaking his head. “I didn’t know it was a drug. It was definitely not how I wanted to spend my time here at all. I just… I just want a chance to relax. To get away from it all,” Gracus said, his hope flaring as he saw her eyes soften and her hand move away from the weapon at her back.
Rebecca shook her head, wondering why she was even considering it. She looked him over and nodded towards the two packs of gear sitting beside him. “Do you at least have a tent in there?”
Gracus nodded his head. “Of course.”
Rebecca sighed. “Fine, let’s get it set up for the night. It’s not like we can go anywhere right now anyway,” she said, reasoning that he had to stay the night no matter what she decided to do with him in the morning. And no matter how sexy he was, she had no intentions of sharing her tent with him.
Gracus stood and reached for the pack his tent was in, before he began pulling out the pieces and laying them on the ground. He smiled to himself when Rebecca walked up behind him.
“I’ll help, it’s probably best if you sleep off as much of your… excess, as possible,” she said as she reached for the tent poles and started to assemble them.
“How long had you intended to be out here?” Gracus asked, wondering what his mate would be doing out here alone and why.
Rebecca smiled. “About two weeks. I was looking for a cave system that my grandfather had found a long time ago,” she admitted. She saw no harm in telling him since he had no idea where the caves were and she was taking him back to town in the morning.
Gracus looked up with interest since he had planned on exploring some of the local caves while he was here. He had to wonder though, what was so special about these particular caves that was so interesting to Rebecca. She had to have been in more than a few caves in the area, but the way she spoke, led him to believe that this one was important to her.
“I was hoping to do some spelunking while I was here. Tell me, what is it about this cave system that interests you so much?” Gracus asked, trying to fight through the fog in his head and his tiredness.
Rebecca shook her head, unwilling to talk about the cave art her grandfather had found. “It’s just a place I heard of, but haven’t gone to yet.”
Working together, they had the tent up in no time and Rebecca moved back to the fire to warm her chilled hands. She pulled out a dehydrated pack of food for dinner and looked at the beautiful, but confused looking man on the other side of the fire from her.
“Are you hungry? Did you bring any food?” Rebecca asked as Gracus swayed a little as he sat in front of the fire.
Gracus smiled, his hazel eyes twinkling as he grabbed his other pack. “I have plenty of food and supplies,” he said as he pulled out an almost identical pack of dehydrated food and showed it to her.
Gracus grinned as he opened the top of the large pack and tilted it so she could see inside. Sure enough, it was stuffed full of different foods and water.
Rebecca looked at him with raised eyebrows and he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m a pretty big guy and I told you I had already planned to be out here for at least a few weeks and tried to plan appropriately,” Gracus said by way of explanation.
Rebecca stared at him through lowered eyes as they both added water and set their pouches of food near the fire to warm them. She couldn’t figure him out. He was a bumbling fool who’d accidently overdosed on enough marijuana that he should be in a coma. Yet, he’d been smart enou
gh to make sure he was well prepared for an extended trip in the forest.
She’d seen inside the pack with his tent and knew he had everything from a hand ax, to fishing gear. Besides the fact that he had to be incredibly strong to carry all that gear, it showed a level of preparation that she wouldn’t have expected of a pot head. They were more inclined to run for the border for tacos, not the mountains with near tasteless dehydrated goop.
Her curiosity was killing her. “What happened yesterday? You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who is so careless…,” Rebecca said, hoping she didn’t offend him.
Gracus blushed and grabbed his dinner from the fire before it burned and watched from across the small flames as Rebecca did the same. He wasn’t quite sure what to tell her. And his eyes were captivated by the way she looked so beautiful on the other side of the fire with the flames looking like they were dancing in her hair.
He didn’t know if his mouth was so dry because of the drug or if it was a reaction to being so close to his mate, within touching distance of her creamy skin and soft, pouty lips. He shook his head to clear it so he could concentrate on her question. There was no reason to prove his foolishness, not when he was trying to convince her to take him with her.
Using the Earth history that Grai had created for him and most of the off-worlders, he tried to salvage his pride and answer her question.
“I work for a private security contractor and have been undercover outside of the country for… years. More years than I care to admit,” he said with a shake of his head before he continued.
“I’ve been gone so long that it’s been difficult to catch up on all the news here at home and to re-acclimate. I honestly didn’t realize the drug had become legal here. I went from being undercover, to being at a cabin, all within hours. It was supposed to help acclimate me to being back on…,” he said, stopping himself from saying the word earth. “American soil.”
Gracus looked at her with a half grin. “Hell of a welcome home. I am very sorry that I put you in a position to have to risk yourself for me,” he said, unwilling to scare her by telling her that he would do it again just to meet her.
Rebecca openly stared at him, trying to figure him out. She had to admit that he did have that look in his eyes that she’d seen in a lot of veterans who had come home from the Middle East. And he was also as geared as well as the veterans usually were too. There was no doubt that he was also as large and well-built as most of the military men that she’d seen. It did explain a lot, she thought.
Unsure what to say and unwilling to put him through painful memories in order to get more details, Rebecca just nodded her head and they both ate in silence for a few minutes as the darkness deepened around them.
“Do you enjoy taking people out here?” Gracus asked, trying to fill the silence and wanting to know more about his beautiful mate.
Rebecca smiled and nodded her head. “Yeah. I love sharing this place with people and seeing how much it changes them,” she admitted a little self-consciously. There was more to it than that, but she wasn’t about to tell that to a complete stranger. Even one as gorgeous as this one, she thought.
Gracus looked at her curiously. “What do you mean, ‘how it changes them’?” he asked, captivated by the adorable blush that came over her cheeks as she’d spoken.
Rebecca spread her arms wide for a moment then looked at him across the fire with a smile. “It’s this place. People come here from all walks of life, so stressed and tense they look like they are going to have a stroke before you can get them in the raft. After a few days out here, when this place has worked its magic on them, they laugh again. They aren’t so tense and stressed.”
Rebecca shrugged. “Most don’t even think that they will be able to make it a few days out here without their phones and computers, much less be able to hike for miles a day and sleep under the stars. They are always surprised and proud when they not only make it, they are stronger for it. I like helping people see what’s around them and inside of them,” she admitted.
Rebecca blushed and realizing she said too much, she stood to clean up from dinner and get ready for bed. They had to leave early, she thought. Whether she took him back to town or took him with her, they still needed up at the same time.
Gracus took her hint and began cleaning up after himself, trying to prove to Rebecca that he wouldn’t be a burden on her. He had to admit, he was looking forward to going to sleep. Only because he was hoping to finally be free of the after effects of the drug.
Gracus knew there was no way that he could woo his mate as long as he was still acting a fool while under the influence of the drug. And there was nothing he wanted more than to have her in his arms.
Rebecca returned to stand awkwardly in front of the fire, shifting her feet. “Well, we really need to go to bed now. We… uh… have to get up early,” she said, looking anywhere but at Gracus.
Gracus could see her nervousness, even if he couldn’t feel her energy and he wondered if she were afraid to be alone with him. He hadn’t considered that his drugged antics and chasing her down out here, may have frightened her and he mentally kicked himself for not thinking of that.
He put his hands in the front pockets of his tact pants, hoping to appear less intimidating to her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come out here and scare you like this. I don’t know what I was thinking…,” he said with a sad shake of his head as he wondered how the hell he could have screwed this up so badly and how he could fix it.
When he went after her, he didn’t think about how frightening it might seem to her to have him come out of nowhere, leaving her alone with a complete stranger and miles from other people and potential help.
Gracus slumped his shoulders as he looked into the fire, no clue how to fix this with a mind still too slow to figure it out in time to keep him with her in the morning. He was amazed at her kindness in even thinking to take him back to town considering how he had ruined her plans of a peaceful trip. Twice.
Rebecca sighed. If there was one thing she knew, it was people, most of the time. And there was nothing dangerous or scary in the least about this guy. Definitely no signs of sociopathic behavior either. But he did fit the description of someone who needed a break as much as she did. And he was well geared, she thought.
She shook her head and faced him. “Look, we’ll see how you feel in the morning. If you aren’t a danger to yourself, you can come with me. If you are a danger, you leave. No arguments, no whining, you go back with me willingly. Deal?” Rebecca asked, pretty confident that he would agree.
Gracus tried to keep the smile from his face, but failed miserably. “I agree! I wouldn’t want to stay if I would endanger you. So, I’ll see you in the morning,” he said, with a smile as he headed to his tent.
Gracus lifted the flap and leaned down to crawl inside before turning back to his mate. He sucked in a breath at how beautiful Rebecca looked as she stood in front of the fire, the flames casting sensuous shadows across her body.
“Good night,” he croaked out as his body hardened. He heard her whispered response as he dived into his sleeping bag, hoping the cold material would help curb his need for her.
He rolled onto his back and listened to the sound of her movements as she settled into her own tent. He wanted nothing more than to curl up beside her and hold her through the chilly night. But, even in his drug fogged mind, he knew that he needed to give her some time to get to know him. The real him, not the drugged fool she had met so far.
Gracus sent a prayer that he would be free of the drug in the morning and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.
*****
Grai stood in the living room of his cabin and faced Scaden, Amun, Niklosi and Decano. He was not the most popular guy in the room right now, but he was used to it and argued his point anyway.
“All I’m saying, is that if she is his mate and we go in there like a bunch of goons to drag him out of there, we may well ruin any chance he has at claiming her. Am
un, didn’t you say that the drug should be out of his system by the morning?” Grai asked, turning his sharp gaze to the doctor.
Amun cleared his throat, unhappy at being the center of attention in this particular argument. He felt torn between his concern for his lifelong friend and what he knew Gracus would want them to do. The last thing Amun wanted to do was stand in the way of his friend bonding with his mate.
Honesty won out and Amun nodded his head. “Yes, the drug should be out of his system by the morning.”
Scaden snorted and ran his hand through his hair. “And what if it isn’t? We just hope he doesn’t decide to sleep with some mountain lions and get them both killed? And what about the five Relians that are running loose? Do we just hope that he’s fit enough to take them on if he encounters them?” Scaden argued, unsure why they were standing in this cabin and not looking for Gracus.
Grai felt like growling in frustration. “I didn’t say we were going to leave them alone! We’re going to find them! I just don’t think they need to know we’re there! We can make sure they are alright and that he’s not still affected by the drug and we stay back and just follow them. At the same time we can scout for the Relians and try to find out what they are doing here,” Grai said, needing them to agree to this plan in order to prevent the catastrophe he knew would occur if they didn’t.
Niklosi sighed and cleared his throat. “Look, I love Gracus like a brother, but I agree with Grai on this. We should make sure he’s ok, then leave him to bond with his mate. I don’t see any benefit in embarrassing him and maybe ruining his chance with her. I would be humiliated and hate you assholes forever if you did it to me,” Niklosi said honestly as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair.
Decano nodded his head. “Yeah, I’d be ready to kill you myself if it was me. I say we check on them and then head out and hunt us some Relians,” Decano said with a grin.
