Chapter 3
Well. That did not go how I planned. I blow out a breath, trying to concentrate on not fainting as my head bangs against the man’s lower back. Alien, I mean. Or is he a man? My lips scrunch up as I consider it.
He certainly looks like a man. A really freaking huge man, what you might get if you crossed a bodybuilder crossed with a tank… I tilt my head, squinting. Two ridged, curling horns protrude from his head. Black tattoos curl across his bare arms, and if when I look sideways at them, it’s almost as if they’re moving.
I huff out a breath. That’s not possible. I mean, I am the queen of impossible, I have a PhD in impossible, but mobile tattoos aren’t part of that. If I’d gotten my degree in biology, maybe I could classify his species. Not that that would help my current predicament. Ugh. My nose scrunches as I sort through information and sensory overload. My stomach bounces against his shoulder, and it’s increasingly hard to concentrate.
I shift, trying to get comfortable. My back is on fire, thanks to my pack, and when it slams against me again, I let out a little moan of pain.
“Put me down,” I demand, fisting my hand and whacking him as hard as I can in the kidney. My frown deepens. It’s where a human kidney would be, at least. He grunts, and I swing again.
Vertigo grips me as I fly through the air, firm hands bracketing my waist. I yelp, and squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for impact as ground rushes toward me.
But it doesn’t come. I crack an eye open, only to find lash-fringed brown regarding me. Breath fans across my skin, his face so close I can see the fine lines bracketing his eyes. He doesn’t look old though, maybe mid-thirties at most. His nose is strong, though bent a little in the middle, like he’s broken it and it didn’t set right. My finger twitches at my side as I fight a sudden wild urge to rub it. I drop my gaze, only snagging it on his mouth. His lips are full underneath his dark scruff.
My heart thuds a little faster as we stare at each other in silence, so loud in my ears I wonder if he can hear it. For an alien, or an alien adjacent, at least, he’s really freaking handsome.
I make a mental note to write that particular observation down in my journal. For science. A raised white scar traces across his forehead, disappearing into a wavy mass of dark brown hair. The two horns curve out of his head, ridged like mountain goats I saw once on a calming nature docuseries, narrated by some old British dude. They’re strikingly non-human. There’s no David Attenborough here to tell me what the hell I’m looking at, and a little shiver of fear ripples over me.
Because he’s an alien, Danielle.
“Ah, well, okay.” I squirm, but his hands hold me fast. “This has been real great, super special getting to, ah, see your world.” I scrub a hand over my eyes, trying to concentrate. It’s really tough to think with what’s gotta be well over two hundred pounds of muscle near pinning me to the ground. Not to mention the avid way his gaze devours me, curiously heated.
“You are mine,” he says, those deep brown eyes fixed on my mouth.
I lick my lips nervously and try to wriggle loose. Moving is a mistake. I only manage to press my hips up into his body. Ram-horned dude makes a guttural noise, and I still, my eyes going wide as a flicker of heat, of primal awareness, surfs through my body. His nostrils flare, his lips parting, and I turn my head to the side, breaking off eye contact and taking a deep breath.
“I uh, am not yours. I am a scientist, and I am very much my own person. I need to get back to the anomaly and get home. Like I said, not yours, sorry about that.”
I don’t know why I apologized; I’m not sorry about it.
I mean, sure, it’s been a while since I got laid and my body is definitely not opposed to the massive hunk of alien man pressing into it. Even now, I can feel desire rushing through me, arousal somehow determined to interrupt our conversation. Traitorous hormones.
He doesn’t say anything, just continues to stare. His chest expands as he takes a deep breath, and his massively muscled pectorals press against the fabric of my shirt. I feel my nipples tighten at the friction, and I swallow.
“Okay, big dude. How about you take me back to the cave, and I’ll hop on your little stage and pop right out of here. Problem solved.” One of the tattoos on his arm ripples, but when I whip my head to get a better look, it’s stationary.
“You are mine,” he repeats, and I turn back to him, narrowing my eyes. His fingertips tighten against my skin, and my mouth goes dry.
“You can’t just take people,” I object. “I mean, other than the fact that that’s exactly what you just did.” Okay, I didn’t mean to say that. “I am my own person. And I don’t belong on your world, see?” I hold up my phone. “I was recording anomalies, possible Einstein-Rosen bridges, and I uh, accidentally slipped through one.”
He snorts, and my irritation swells at the familiar dismissal. “It was no accident.”
“It was too!” I cross my arms over my chest, trying to get some space between us. But now I’m even more acutely aware of how perfectly sculpted his body is, how warm his skin feels against mine, and shit, this is so not good. He cranes his head down slightly, his breath whuffing over my neck. I go still, fear spiking in me as he nuzzles against the curve in my neck, inhaling deeply.
“I want to get up.” It comes out a squeak, and he frowns. “I did not come all this way to be assaulted by an alien species.”
He makes a deep rumbling sound in his chest, and I realize he’s laughing. Then he’s pulling me up, standing us both upright. The world swims around me, and I inhale deeply. My chest is cold without his body on top of mine, and I wrap my arms more closely around myself.
“If I am an alien, you are an alien.” He’s still laughing, the noise a low rasp that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
My mouth screws up to one side. He has a point.
“Fine.”
He sobers, his smile turning to something serious as he takes a step towards me. “Do not be scared, little Starbound woman. You are home now.”
“No, I need to get back, I need to go to the rip before it closes.” What about this is not getting through his thick skull? I check my watch to see how much time has passed. The rips are normally open only for half an hour or less. If he runs me back, I could probably make it. I swallow hard. The watch screen is black, unresponsive.
“How long have I been here? What time is it?” My breath is coming quick, and my stomach churns.
He tilts his head at me, animal like, and it’s another reminder that no matter how handsome his face is, no matter how compelling an argument his body makes, he’s not human. That this is not Earth. That I am not in fucking Kansas anymore, Toto. Or the New Mexican steppe. Whatever.
“The day has passed.” He points at the sky. “It is nearly evening now. The three sisters are in the sky.”
I follow his finger, to where a star hangs low in the horizon, casting warm light and long shadows. Jesus. I scan the skyline. On the opposite side, three moons are rising. One is huge and lavender, another a peachy gold, and the third a silvery white that reminds me of my moon.
It’s nearly evening. Goosebumps pebble across my skin. “So… I’ve been here a long time?” My voice is high and tight, my fingers drumming against my arms.
“Time passes differently after the doorways open. What seems like nothing in the caves is a whole day outside.” He shrugs, regarding me curiously. “You should know this.”
“I’m a scientist,” I agree, the term meaning less and less the more I say it. I glance back at him. “But that’s not what you meant, is it?”
“You descend from the line of the great houses. You are of my people, one of the Starbound,” he says, as if that explains everything. I rub my temple. “Surely you know how to open the doors and the consequences of doing so.”
“Ah, no.” A thought occurs to me, and I step back suddenly. “How are we speaking the same language? How do you know English?”
He scratches the scruff on his jaw, and I follow the motion. His bone structure is slightly larger than most men I’ve seen, but it’s not a bad thing. It works for him. His jaw line seems square and strong under the dark shadow of his beard, and for some reason, I want to reach out and touch it. Which is really stupid. I can’t just go around touching aliens. That’s like, probably a big no no. No touching the wildlife.
Except, he already touched me. Not to mention the fact I bit him. I moved straight past touching and into putting my mouth on his skin. My gaze skirts to his bicep, where a red welt stands out against black tattoos and sun-tanned skin.
I squeeze my eyes shut, inhaling deeply. I need to not think about putting my mouth on him.
He’s saying something, and I try to refocus, my brain moving a mile a minute and my heart trying to outpace it.
“What?” I ask.
“You speak my language.” He touches a finger against my lips, and I’m so surprised by the gesture, that I just let him. “What is your name?”
“Danielle.” I speak his language. Sure, okay, seems legit. I swallow a manic laugh.
“Danielle,” he repeats. His forefinger is still on my lower lip, and he traces it slowly. A shiver runs down my spine, and he smiles, white teeth gleaming. My heart skips a beat. For not being a human, he sure is gorgeous when he grins. “I am called Dabin; I am the slaughterer. I am one of the few of the Starbound warriors from the old houses left defending this realm. I lead our people against the doorways, against the dark ones.” His hand falls away from my face, his attention wholly on me.
“Dabin?” The sound in the middle slides between a b and v, and it feels strange in my mouth. “Slaughterer, huh? Sounds, erm, nice.” I gulp. None of what he just said sounds good. Few houses left? Defending this realm? What the hell else is going through the doors? Instead of scaring me, though, this information is intriguing, my scientist brain kicking into high gear with that piece of information.
“What else comes through? Different species? More women like me? How many different realms? Where did your warriors go? Where did they come from?”
He laughs again, his smile growing, and my stomach does a little flip. Dabin takes another step toward me, running his big hands over my arms. His palms are rough and calloused. I shiver against it, the friction feeling too good against my skin.
“I will answer all your questions.” He jerks his chin at the sky. “But first, we must get you somewhere warm and safe before nightfall. Are you hungry?”
“No,” I lie. I don’t know why, but the thought of eating scares me. Like, if I eat something here, I’ll be stuck. It will make it real, that I can’t leave, that I might never get home. Like he’ll feed me this universe’s version of Hades’ pomegranate seed. My gaze darts back to him. With the horns and the muscles, Dabin would make a very fitting lord of the underworld, however. Except for the dazzling smile and the golden-tan skin.
And the way he’s looking at me, like he wants to devour me in the sexiest way possible? Definitely Greek god shit.
My stomach growls, and he arches an eyebrow at me, crossing his arms over his chest as in an unspoken challenge.
“Maybe a little hungry,” I admit. I don’t want to be trapped here. What the hell have I gotten myself into? Where the hell have I gotten myself into? A bird takes flight from a nearby tree, and I startle as its wings beat against the coming dark of night.
“You are afraid,” he says, his nostrils flaring.
It’s true, and admitting it snaps something inside, adrenaline coalescing into something hard and sharp.
“Yeah, I am afraid. I’m in the middle of the woods on a strange planet where, according to you, some kind of dangerous entities are using the Einstein-Rosen bridges to infiltrate and murder people. I’m stuck with a giant, muscled alien stranger who keeps slinging me over his shoulder, and I can’t get home.” I throw my hands up in frustration, a heartbeat away from a full-on meltdown. “Decades of research, all for nothing, because I was stupid enough to slip through one of the anomalies.”
I clamp my mouth shut at the end of my little tirade. Then I slump, all my anger dissipating as quickly as it came. I am stuck here. The enormity of that plows into me, sucking all the wind from my sails.
I look up in surprise as Dabin huffs out another laugh.
“What?” I ask, irritated, my hands going to my hips on reflex.
“You noticed my muscles.” He arches a brow, smiling at me. It’s full of suggestion and heat and humor and honestly? It’s doing something to me. “As for the rest, I am not a stranger. I am your mate. And thanks to the muscles you noticed, I can protect you against anything loose in these woods.” He flexes, and sure enough, his muscles are looking pretty capable.
I swallow, rubbing my forehead. “Fine.”
“Good.” He makes to grab for me again, and I yelp, putting a hand up.
“Wait, I can walk!”
His gold-flecked eyes narrow. “It is a long walk.”
“I can walk.”
“It is very far. I would like to carry you. You are tired from your journey.” He steps closer, brushing against my arm. “It would be no problem.” His deep voice takes on a silky, rich, quality.
I suck in a breath. No. I will not be seduced by the prospect of being carried miles and miles over rough terrain, by a big, strong man. No, I will use my own two feet, after hiking all day, and I will walk 500 miles?—
My nose scrunches, and I jut a hip out before the earworm burrows any further. “How far, exactly?”
“If you walk?” His lips press into a thin line, even as his eyes dance with humor. “Very far. If I carry you? It will be much faster.”
“Okay, but listen here, buddy?—”
“My name is Dabin.”
I grit my teeth, the beginning of a headache coming on. “Yes, Dabin, thank you. I know. Here’s the thing: I am fully capable of walking. I am a strong, independent woman, and I don’t need anyone to carry me. However,” I pause, gauging his reaction.
He blinks at me.
“You are right,” I continue grudgingly. “It has been a very long day. Interdimensional travel really wears a girl out.” I forge onward, ignoring the glint of humor in his eyes. “I don’t want you getting any ideas about me if you carry me either, do you understand? I will allow you to carry me, if, and only if, you understand this.”
“You are a strong woman,” he agrees, his gaze running across the skin my shorts expose.
“And no ideas?”
“Ideas about what?”
“Ugh.” I purse my lips, but he looks serious, albeit somewhat confused. “You know, like, no funny business.”
His eyes narrow, an eyebrow quirking up.
“No touching me, okay?”
“I cannot carry you without touching you, that is not one of my powers.”
Powers?I look to the sky, where the moons rise, staggered against the horizon. One thing at a time, Danielle.
“No unnecessary touching,” I clarify.
“I will not touch you unnecessarily unless you ask me to,” he says quickly, understanding dawning on his handsome face.
Unless I ask him to?I narrow my eyes, but I can’t get a read on him. Not that I expected too, I’ve always been shit at reading people. Reading data? That I can do.
I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Fine.”
A smile blooms across his face, and he sweeps me into his arm in record time. I bite back a gasp as he surges forward, trees blurring by us. Powers, indeed. Holy hell. I can hear David Attenborough’s voice in my head:
The rare horned man, in his element, makes powerful strides across the rocky terrain. Body built for speed and precision, he’s no match for interdimensional hellspawn. He’s found his mate, and now he establishes dominance in the mating ritual by carrying her to his home?—
Shut UP, David Attenborough.
“You want to know the ideas I have about you?”
Even now, the great horned man seeks to tame his female counterpart.
I shake my head, attempting to silence my internal interdimensional nature documentary. “No ideas. You’re not supposed to have any ideas.”
Dabin grunts, but when I glance up at him, there’s a hint of a smile on his face. We’re whipping through the forest, twilight falling around us, and I can’t stop myself from blurting out the first thing that comes to mind.
“You aren’t like, a predator, right?”
“I am a warrior.” He frowns down at me.
“Okay, yes, I know that, but I’m asking if you eat people. Do you sparkle in the sunlight? If I were to run, would you chase me? As if I could outrun you?”
He slows somewhat, a look of consternation crinkling his brow.
“Never mind,” I say. He didn’t strike me for a vampire, anyway. Not moody enough.
“Are there many cannibals where you come from? I do not understand why you would ask this.” A slow smile turns the corners of his mouth up. “Unless, perhaps, you understand what it means to be mated, and you are asking about a very different kind of eating?—”
“That’s enough of that,” I bark out. The man has a one-track mind.
He opens his mouth, no doubt about to say something else ridiculous.
“Ah-ah!” I yelp, and his mouth snaps shut.
He’s holding me like a husband might carry his new wife over the threshold of their home, and I tighten my grip on his neck. He isn’t just running quickly, he is moving. Wind whips my hair around my face, and I squeeze my eyes shut.
I need to approach this horned man less like a horny mess, and more like a scientist.
Hypothesis: I accidentally slipped through time and space and now there’s no way home.
Test: None needed.
Notes: Dabin appears to be infatuated with me, and thus may not be the best person to take at face value.
There is no data to analyze, therefore I cannot reach a meaningful conclusion. I sigh, and my shoulders loosen as I relax. I will do the impossible, yet again, and find my way home. Then, I’ll prove that I was right about the anomalies, and all those assholes who laughed me out of my PhD can suck on it. A pleased smile turns the corner of my face up. Ah, the scientific method always works, even now silencing the what ifs echoing around my head.
I frown, a new idea occurring to me. I open up my eyes, prepared to pepper my ride with questions.
Instead, I gasp as a peculiar prickling sensation travels over my skin. It’s not uncomfortable, not entirely, but it is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. An awareness comes over my whole body, and I tense. Then it’s gone.
“That was the ward.” Dabin peers down at me.
“Ah,” I say, as if his explanation means something to me. We’re surrounded by an expansive meadow, a riot of colorful flowers dotting the tall green grass. The whole field smells warm and floral, like perfume I once smelled at a hoity-toity boutique before realizing the perfume in question cost more than my entire semesters’ pay as an adjunct. A red-gold sunset streaks the horizon, the dark purple smudge of night blooming behind it. The three moons are further in the sky now, and stars wink into life around them.
“Welcome to Idiene Fieldhouse. It is not what it used to be,” he pauses, shaking his head. He smiles, looking shy. “It is my home, however, and what’s mine is yours.”
My heartbeat skips, and I try not to think too hard about this whole ‘what’s mine is yours’ business. Instead, I drink in the sight. It’s incredible. A chimney puffs plumes of smoke into the sky, the mottled stone column arching away from the golden thatched roof. The house itself is too large to be cozy, though that’s the word that comes to mind as I stare. Gray stones slot together like round puzzle pieces, set into creamy mortar. Verdant green vines climb the walls, pale yellow flowers blooming in the near twilight. Their light floral scent perfumes the air, and I inhale deeply. Elaborately carved torches flare to life as Dabin walks the path to the cottage.
I blink rapidly, momentarily blinded by the bright glow. “How did they turn on? Is it electricity? Did you cross over a sensor that flipped them? You don’t have electricity, right?”
He smiles down at me, still cradled in his arms, his eyes narrowing as if he’s trying to parse my meaning.
“The lights,” I gesture. “How did they turn on?” I squint at the smoke billowing from the fireplace. “And is there someone here? How is the fire going?”
“You have a lot of questions.” He shrugs, all of his muscles contracting around me.
I swallow. It’s a lot of muscles. “Sorry,” I manage.
“Do not apologize. I like your questions.” He grins down at me, and it’s clear he’s telling the truth. “It’s magic,” he continues, finally setting me down. I stand gingerly, my body aching as I move, the telltale sign of a long day in the field. Oh, and my good-ole interdimensional travel, can’t forget that.
“Magic,” I repeat. A high-pitched giggle escapes my mouth. Instead of STEM, they have STEMM here, where the last M stands for magic. Another giggle erupts.
“Are you alright?” Dabin’s brow crinkles.
“We don’t have magic where I’m from. I don’t have magic.” I take a deep breath, steadying myself before reaching for one of the torches. Sure enough, it’s some kind of fire, but it’s not hot, just warm as it flickers inside a carved wooden box, like a luminary.
“You have magic,” Dabin says, tilting his head at me, a slight frown on his lips. The torches cast strange shadows as night falls around us, and I wrap my arms around myself, unsure.
How am I going to be able to explain any of this to my colleagues?
I can’t even explain it to myself.
“Come, come.” Dabin intertwines his fingers with mine. “I will answer your questions. Let me make you a meal, wash your journey off, and then we will talk over everything. Anything,” he adds, emphasizing the word.
“Oh. Okay, yeah, that sounds like a plan.” Hopefully he doesn’t mean he wants to personally wash me. I swallow as I imagine it: me, naked and wet in a bath while Dabin runs a washcloth over my skin. A shiver wracks me that has nothing to do with the chill of descending night. Good grief. I absolutely cannot understand why I’m so aroused by the thought. By him.
Dabin pulls me along the magical path, the well-tread grassy expanse giving way to mossy cobblestones. His hand is warm and rough against mine. Simply touching his skin sends little flutters through my belly, and honestly? It puts me on edge. He’s touchy-feely and sweet and possessive and that’s fine, really. What’s not fine is how I react to him. Sure, I’ve had boyfriends, I’ve had plenty.
I’ve never straight up lusted after one of them the same day we met.
I drag my eyes away from where his hand holds mine, back to the stone and thatch house. It’s like something straight out of a fairytale, and all I can hope is that it’s not a Brothers Grimm version.