by Karen Kelley
“It’s very nice here.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I kind of thought you would feel that way.” She took a bite of her burger and chewed, then followed it with a drink of her soda. “Donald isn’t so bad.”
“Yes, he is. I think he could be very cruel if he doesn’t like someone. You should be careful around him.”
“Trust me, I’ve known Donald all my life. He’s a little prissy….” She caught his expression. “Okay, he’s a lot prissy, but he’s mostly talk. If cornered, he’ll run the other way.”
“I think he would lash out as he ran.”
How often had she thought the same thing? Ria had never spoken the words out loud though.
“We have parks on New Symtaria,” he said, changing the subject.
“Like this one?”
“There are more people outside enjoying the day on New Symtaria. When Old Symtaria released poisonous gasses into the air, it was said everyone stayed indoors or only went out with air-supplied masks. When New Symtaria was discovered, it was ordained by the old ruler that part of each day would be spent outdoors enjoying the fresh air.”
“We don’t spend enough time outside,” she sighed. “It’s the age of technology and I’m afraid when people do go outside, they’re still busy talking on the phone or texting someone.”
“Is that why you run? To enjoy the day?”
She picked up a fry, but it had already grown cold so she put it back down. “Partly,” she told him. “I like to feel the wind on my face. I feel free when I’m running. As though I have no troubles in the world.”
“It is the same when I shift and Labrinon soars through the sky.”
“You can feel it, then?”
“Yes.”
“Then does he feel what you feel?”
“Yes.”
“Even when we…” She felt the heat rise up her face.
“He sleeps, giving me the privacy I need.”
She let out her breath. She was so not into threesomes, especially when one of the partners was a bird.
They finished eating in silence. She bagged up their trash and they walked it over to the barrel, dropping it inside.
“Look.” Kristor pointed to a hawk flying high in the sky.
“Someone you know?”
“Only a hawk, but watch it.”
She did, wondering what it was he wanted her to see. After a moment, her neck began to ache. “What am I supposed to get out of this?”
“Just watch.”
The bird seemed to lazily float in the air, slowly circling in the sky. No cares, no worries. “Okay, it’s beautiful.” She’d give him that, at least.
“You could be flying right now.”
“No thank you. Not on a full stomach.” Or any stomach as far as she was concerned.
“I will stay with you the next time you shift. I would fly with you.”
“I’m not ready.” She glanced in his direction, then quickly looked at the hawk again. It would be too easy for him to sway her into doing something she wasn’t ready to do. “But it’s a beautiful bird.”
The hawk suddenly swooped down like a bomber plane. For a moment it was lost in the trees. What the hell was it doing? Had it crashed? When it reemerged, there was a wiggling tail dangling from its mouth.
“Eww.”
“The hawk has great visual acuity. It can spot prey from a long distance.”
“I don’t want to talk about it. I really don’t want to talk about it. And if you continue to talk about it, my lunch will come back up.”
He laughed. A deep baritone sound that wrapped around her, singing to her soul. She met his gaze, and something passed between them. He leaned closer, his lips brushing against hers. His touch was nice and, all too soon, he pulled back. Oh, jeez, she really needed to think about something else.
“Do you swim?” she suddenly asked.
“Swim?”
“You know, in the water.”
He opened his mouth, paused, then shook his head. “I don’t know this.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. “I know the perfect place: Miller Crossing.”
But when he aimed her toward his bike, rather than her car, she wasn’t so sure.
“I’ve never thought motorcycles were safe,” she told him.
“Are you going to play everything safe?” he asked.
She cocked an eyebrow. “I do not play everything safe. I took a chance borrowing the money to open my animal grooming shop. I could’ve fallen flat on my face.”
He didn’t say anything, only stared.
“Okay, fine, but if I die, you’re going to have to tell my parents.”
He straddled the seat and she climbed on awkwardly behind him. He handed her his helmet.
“You have motorcycles on New Symtaria?” she asked.
“No.”
She frowned. “But you have cars and trucks.”
“No.”
The bike roared to life.
“How long have you been driving?”
“Your time?”
“Yes.”
He pulled out onto the road, but yelled over his shoulder, “Two weeks. Maybe a little less.”
She was going to die. Why did she go against everything she believed in to get on a dangerous machine like this with an inexperienced driver?
“Which way?”
“My house first.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, closed her eyes, and hung on for dear life.
She had to admit on the ride over he seemed to be a skilled driver. Had he been lying? She had a feeling he was. Maybe to get her to hold on a little tighter. She would have done that anyway. She liked holding tightly to him.
She had a feeling her heart was in trouble.
All too soon, he pulled in her driveway and they climbed off.
“I thought you said you didn’t have vehicles where you’re from?”
“Not like this.”
He grinned, and she knew he’d teased her. He always seemed so serious that she hadn’t suspected him of having a sense of humor.
“Well, do you have shorts or something you can wear to swim in?”
“I have a database.”
As they walked inside, he pulled what looked like an IPod of sorts out of his back pocket. As tempting as the thought of his only wearing the Ipod and nothing else, he might cause someone to have a heart attack if they walked up on a naked alien. Especially an alien built as well as Kristor.
“I mean something to wear swimming. You’ll need a swim suit.”
He punched around on the keys, a swirl of lights appeared, and in the center was a pair of swim trunks.
“How did you do that?”
He held up the little computer. “Database. I told you about it.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think it would do this.” She waved her arm toward the suit. “Can you make anything appear?”
“Most anything.” He punched in some numbers, then smiled. More lights appeared and in the center was the skimpiest string bikini she’d ever seen.
“Funny, but I don’t think so.”
He punched around some more, and the suit disappeared. Before he could bring something else up, she said, “I have my own suit. You can change out here. I’ll use the bedroom.”
But when she went to her bedroom, she didn’t choose the most conservative suit that she owned. Her choice wasn’t a string bikini, but a pretty yellow swimsuit just the same, and one that flattered her figure.
She gave him what she thought was plenty of time, then walked into the living room. She’d slipped on a pair of blue-jean cutoffs over her swimsuit bottom, but the look he gave her told her he remembered what she looked like without clothes, and it took her breath away.
Not that she wasn’t doing the same thing to him. If they didn’t leave soon, they might not leave at all, and there was a lot more she wanted to know about New Symtaria. And Kristor.
“I’ll just grab a couple of water bottles and some towels.” She abruptly
turned and went to gather everything they might need. But when she went inside the kitchen, she took a long, slow, deep breath as she tried to get her raging hormones under control.
Hell, it wasn’t every day that she had the equivalent of a male cover model in her house, or in her bed. She had to stop thinking so much about him in that way. She could spend a nice afternoon alone with him without jumping his bones. Surely, it wouldn’t be that hard.
Hard?
Get your mind out of the gutter. Ria repeated over and over to herself as she hurried outside.
Kristor was already at the bike. He took the things from her and put everything in the black leather bags that hung on each side of the motorcycle. She gave him directions, telling him the turns as they came up to them. Her fear of riding on the motorcycle quickly changed to exhilaration. It was a lot more fun than she’d expected. There was a freedom, much like when she ran, except she didn’t have to work for the rush. She had a feeling this would turn out to be a nice day.
Miller Crossing was where she and Carly had spent most of their summers. It was a great place to swim. You couldn’t cross it, though. It was too big, so you had to go around it. That made it more private and, most of the time, anyone could find a secluded spot.
She directed Kristor around to the far side. It was the best place, and she knew it was more concealed than some of the other areas. She didn’t even attempt to question her motives.
He slowed, then turned off onto a narrow trail only wide enough for a motorcycle, bringing the bike almost to a crawl. Ria kept her knees in tight against the hard muscles of his thighs. When the water was in sight, he stopped the motorcycle, turning off the engine, and dropping the kickstand.
It was as though they were the only ones in the world, surrounded by the silence of the pine trees. For a moment, they sat looking at the clear slate of blue water. Perfect, unblemished. Begging for them to jump in.
She quickly climbed off and removed her helmet. Kristor climbed off as well.
“Now, do you have a view like this on New Symtaria?” she asked.
“Better.”
She tilted her head and looked at him. How rude. “I doubt that. This would be pretty hard to beat.”
“Come back with me and I’ll prove we have the better views.”
“Funny.” She slipped off her shorts and laid them across the seat. “I’ll race you to the water.” Without waiting to see if he followed, she took off.
Kristor watched, knowing he would let her win—this time. A smart warrior knew which battles he needed to win. Not that he minded letting her go first. She was right, the view of her in that tiny yellow bikini could not be beat.
He followed at a slower pace. She screamed when she ran into the water. He laughed.
You’ll miss her when you leave, Labrinon said.
I told you, I won’t leave without her. Have I ever lost a battle?
But there may be many battles before a war is won.
I think I will enjoy winning each one, too.
I don’t doubt it.
“It’s cold.”
Kristor smiled. The water might be cold, but it didn’t stop her from diving in headfirst. He held his breath when she didn’t immediately emerge. Just when he would have jumped in, she shot out of the water.
“Come on. I promise I won’t let you drown.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have lied when he told her he couldn’t swim. That had been wrong. He only hoped it took her a very long time to figure it out.
He waded in. She was right. The water was cool, refreshing after having the sun beat down on them. He walked to where she stood, the water to her shoulders. It was much lower on him.
“You have to get your head wet.” She placed her hands on top of his head and pushed.
He didn’t move. Why would he? Her breasts were in his face.
“You’re supposed to go under,” she complained.
He laughed, then obliged, although he rather enjoyed the proximity of her body next to his.
“There, now I’ll teach you to swim. One arm, then the other.” She demonstrated.
Kristor made sure his movements were awkward. In truth, he was a strong swimmer.
She shook her head. “Not like that.”
She took his arm and made the motion again, then stood behind him, her chest pressed against his back. He closed his eyes, enjoying the moment.
“Are you paying attention?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“I don’t think you are.”
“It’s hard to move my arms correctly with you standing behind me. Try moving to the front.”
She was so intent on teaching him to swim that she complied with his request, snuggling in front of him.
“Try putting your arms on top of mine and you can follow my movements.”
He enjoyed the way she wiggled her bottom. He could follow her movements until the sun slipped beneath the horizon, or until he mated with her again. But then, she abruptly moved away.
“Okay, now watch me.” She swam a short distance, then turned and came back. “Do you think you can do that?”
“I’ll try.” He swam out a ways, then dove beneath the water, coming up in front of her. He took her in his arms, pulling her close to him.
“You know how to swim,” she accused.
“I’m a fast learner.”
“Very funny.”
“Are you mad?”
She tried not to smile, but it broke through anyway. “Furious.” She leaned forward, planting her mouth on his.
When the kiss ended, they were both gasping for air. “I want to mate.”
“In the water?”
“Good idea.” He reached for her top.
“No, I wasn’t agreeing.”
“Then you don’t want to mate?”
“I do, but not here, not now. I want to get to know you better. I think we rushed things a little last night.”
He sighed, but gave in to her wishes. He would never understand women. They were almost the same on New Symtaria. “So what will we do?”
“Talk.”
Yes, Earth women and Symtarian women were alike in many ways. A woman was a woman, no matter where she was from. Which made them even more interesting.
Chapter 13
Ria spread her towel on the ground and lay down. The sun was hot, but the leafy branches of an old and gnarled oak tree spread out, giving them plenty of shade. She closed her eyes and sighed. Kristor spread his towel next to hers, dripping water across her back.
She gave him her evil-eye glare. “You did that on purpose.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
He lay down beside her. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t think you are.” His eyes twinkled with mischief. No, he’d definitely meant to drip water on her. Damn, he was just too sexy. Bare, tanned chest, rock-hard muscles, and all of it exposed for her pleasure. This had to be what heaven was like, or at least pretty darn close.
“So you do want to mate,” he said.
It took a moment for his words to sink in. When they did, she quickly looked away, turning on her back and draping her arm across her eyes to block the glare of the sun, and the temptation to look a little longer at Kristor’s delicious body. She’d meant it when she told him she wanted to slow down their relationship. She barely knew him.
And it was time to face the facts. As much as she’d like to think she had dreamed everything, she hadn’t. She had really shifted into a frog. She really did have an animal guide. She really was part alien.
“Tell me about New Symtaria,” she said. “Tell me about who I am, where I come from.”
He was silent for a moment as though carefully choosing his words. “Symtarians are a proud people, but our ancestors were brought to their knees when Symtaria was dying. They had worn out the planet, polluted its resources. When they went in search of a new one, they vowed to learn from the mistakes of the past. We live a more simple life now.”
“How so?” she asked.
“We’re very careful with waste. We’ve learned to enjoy the simple things.”
She rolled onto her side and looked at him. He’d turned onto his back, staring up at the sky. She loved watching him, and she loved hearing him talk about New Symtaria.
“And how did you become shapeshifters?” she asked.
“Long ago, gods and goddesses walked the land. They were one with the people. Part human, part animal. Their powers were great, and helped the people. Then they mated with some of the chosen. The offspring were not human, nor were they animal. Two living as one, they were both. One cannot truly survive without the other. Eventually, everyone had their own animal guide to help them when they were needed.”
“It sounds like a fairy tale—a fantasy.”
“Not quite. We angered the gods when we destroyed our planet through our carelessness. That is why we had to search for many years until we found this one.”
“And now you’re trying to make everything right by bringing the impures home.”
“Yes.”
“And what if they don’t want to return?”
Silence.
“Kristor?”
“It is in your best interest to return with me.”
She sat up. “And if I don’t?”
He sat up as well, watching her. “I hope you will want to return on your own. The Queen Mother bade me exercise diplomacy.”
The Queen Mother. Wait, hadn’t he told her he was a prince? “This wouldn’t happen to be your mother?”
“Yes, my mother.”
She was going to throw up. He was a prince. A real true prince. She almost laughed out loud at the irony—and she’d been a frog.
“Now we will mate.” He pulled her against him, his lips finding hers.
For a moment, she lost herself in the sensation of his body heat as it wrapped around her, enclosing her in a cocoon of sensual desire. His tongue stroked hers. His hands caressed her back, untying her top.
She jerked away, holding the little slip of yellow material against her chest. “No, we can’t do this.” She jumped up and turned her back, re-tying her top.
“Why not?” He came up behind her, pulling her close, lightly running his fingers over her bare stomach.
For a moment, she forgot why they couldn’t make love. She lost herself in the sensations he stirred inside her. His fingers tickled over her flesh, dipping lower and lower.
