Thirty Two
She wasn’t outside the tent when he emerged. She had insisted he sleep inside because she wanted to stay with Rocky. He had reluctantly agreed – the damned cur barked and whined whenever she was out of sight for more than a nanosecond.
When he eventually found her, she was standing on a ridge some hundred yards further along gazing over the sheer drop. His pulse quickened.
“Kara,” he said softly, not wanting to startle her. “You are too close to the edge.”
“Come and look.”
Easier said than done. The hound prowled towards him from behind a rock, hackles raised. Vahn itched to unsheathe his laser-blade and slice the beast’s head off.
“Rocky, sit.” Kara spoke sharply without turning. The animal lay down, staring unflinchingly at Vahn as he made his way to Kara’s side.
“What is it, human?”
“Down there. Look.”
Vahn leaned over the drop. The ground fell away steeply for hundreds of meters but at the bottom it levelled out into a lush valley. Vivid green foliage spread as far as the eye could see and through the centre, winding like a silver ribbon, was a sparkling river.
“It looks like an oasis,” he murmured.
“A rainforest, I think.” Kara squinted. “I can see flashes of red and yellow. I think they’re birds. And I’ll bet the river is full of fish.”
“It is probably the water source for the sulfur springs back at the cave. I expect it disappears underground beneath the hills and emerges there.”
“So that means it doesn’t evaporate during the dry season.” Kara turned to him, eyes shining. “It’s perfect. We can hang out down there till we’re rescued.”
His gut tightened. Now was the time to tell her that he wasn’t coming.
And yet the words wouldn’t form.
I will escort her down the hill and make sure she is settled, he reasoned. Once I know she is safe, then I will leave.
Yes. That was logical.
They packed up the tent and set off. The journey downhill was far quicker than the way up, and the weather slightly better. Perhaps this side of the slope had a different micro-climate. Whatever the reason, the rain held off and the breeze was gentler.
Kara tried to engage Vahn in conversation but his answers were terse and monosyllabic. He seemed pissed off with her. Maybe because she’d insisted on letting Rocky stay.
Well, tough. Let him sulk.
The landscape began to change. It grew less rocky and more verdant. Trees and bushes began to pepper the terrain. Here and there, sweet-smelling blooms provided a shock of color. And what Kara had thought were birds were, in fact, giant butterflies with wing-spans the length of her forearm.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed as they left the barren hillside behind. “It’s like the garden of Eden.”
“Eden?”
“A beautiful place on Earth supposedly created by the Christian God. Does Vraxos have anything like that?”
“The vale of Shamhoreth. The divine realm where Vannla and Ayanlesh consummated their passion and gave rise to the rest of the gods.”
“Wow. Sounds like an epic tale. Will you tell it to me?”
“The story is sacred to Vraxians,” he said shortly. “It is not for human ears.”
Kara gave up and concentrated on the rapidly improving scenery. They passed a tree with low hanging fruit on the branches, deep purple ovals reminiscent of plums. She picked one and held it out to Vahn questioningly.
He laid his dendra on it for a moment, then nodded wordlessly. Without pausing Kara bit into it, squealing in glee as juice erupted from her mouth and spilled down her front. She grinned widely, her joy so infectious that Vahn couldn’t help the corner of his mouth twitching upward.
He found himself reaching out to wipe the juice from her chin.
In an instant, Rocky was jumping up at him, jaws snapping a hairs’ breadth from his face.
“ Drek’aa beresh, ” Vahn swore violently. “I swear I am going to disembowel the wretched creature.” He ignited his blade. Undaunted, the hound stood its ground, its ears flat against its head.
Kara rolled her eyes.
“This is what happens when there’s too much testosterone around. Look, he thinks you’re a threat. You’re going to have to prove you’re not.”
“And how, by the Fountain of Zandarr, am I to do that?
“Well, pretending you like me would be a start,” she snapped. “Just put your arm round me or something.”
“You want me to put on a display of affection for an animal? ”
“I’m not thrilled by it either, snake-boy. But it’s either that or risk getting your face torn off every time you come near me.”
Swearing irritably, Vahn sheathed his blade while Kara shrugged off her back-pack. He went to put his hands on Kara’s shoulders and Rocky’s ears flattened.
“This is drek’aa intolerable,” he said through gritted teeth. “The animal is deranged.”
“Lighten up. I’ll hug you if you prefer. Here, sit down so I can reach.”
Grumbling beneath his breath, Vahn allowed her to pull him down into a sitting position. She put her arm awkwardly round his shoulder. Rocky wrinkled his muzzle, unimpressed.
“I fear the wretched hound is not deceived,” muttered Vahn.
“Why am I not surprised? You have to make it convincing.”
With a muttered oath, Vahn scooped her up and deposited her in his lap. He wrapped both arms around her, making his movements slow and exaggerated, then circled her with his serpetri for good measure.
“Is that better, human?”
“Um, yes. That should do it.”
“And how long are we to stay like this?”
“Until Rocky gets it into his dog-brain that you’re not a threat.”
“It would be easier to behead it. Or I can use the blaster and…”
“No-one’s offing anyone, buddy. Now look into my eyes and pretend we’re friends.”
He did so and for a long moment they stared at each other.
Human eyes were strange, he thought. But not unpleasant. Kara’s were so dark they appeared liquid. He could almost drown in them.
Kara held his gaze, fascinated by his irises. They didn’t seem as alien as they had before. Not as yellow as she’d initially thought. More a pale gold. Or was she just used to them now?
And his scent. He smelled good. Impossibly so, for someone who’d walked so many miles. A fresh, earthy mix of leather and citrus that was undeniably masculine.
She realized they’d been staring at each other for a while.
“Um, I think Rocky probably knows we’re friends now,” she said, flustered.
“Hm.” He seemed in no hurry to let her go. “And are we friends then, Kara Singh, daughter of the President of Earth?”
“I… well, aren’t we? I think maybe we are.”
“Is it even possible for two such different species to be friends?” His expression turned thoughtful and he brushed a strand of hair from her face. “There are so many things that mark us apart. Your appearance. Your fragility. Your ability to dream.”
“Doesn’t being friends mean seeing past the differences?”
“Or maybe it’s seeing the similarities.”
“The… similarities?”
The intensity of his gaze set her belly fluttering. He touched her browbone, a feather-light caress which made her tingle.
“We both have two eyes.” He stroked the bridge of her nose. “Two nostrils.” A finger traced the outline of her bottom lip. “One mouth.” Each fleeting touch sent delicious little butterflies tumbling in her stomach. “Why do you think our mouths were made so alike, human?”
“Maybe it’s just the best biological design,” she mumbled. “For… for talking. And eating. And breathing.”
He bent closer and heat curled at her core. She was finding it hard to concentrate.
“And kissing?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “And kissing.”
Mere millimeters now separated them, the tension between them thick and syrupy. Vahn knew it was a mistake, that kissing the human would only make it harder to break the kalehsh bond. But he found himself unable to focus on anything except her lips.
He imagined the pleasure of claiming them, tasting them. Ravishing them until they were as plump and tender as gacia berries and just as sweet. He moved closer still until his breath feathered across her skin.
Somewhere at the back of his mind he wondered why Kara wasn’t resisting. And for that matter, why she hadn’t resisted three days before when he’d feasted on her. She should have been repelled by his advances but she was not. Indeed, she had willingly invited intimacy between them. He just didn’t know why.
He was affected by kalehsh , true, but she was not. As a human, she couldn’t be. Yet looking now at her dilated pupils and parted lips, he was fairly certain that if he kissed her she would kiss him back.
An unwelcome notion seeped into his feverish thoughts. He tried to shake it off yet it was impossible to ignore. There’s only one reason Kara would ever kiss a Vraxian . And it had nothing to do with her own desires.
It was him. He was releasing mating pheromones. It was the only explanation.
On Vraxos when kalehsh mates found each other, the release of biological chemicals was mutual. But Kara was human and had no idea what was happening.
That was why she’d let him taste her that night by the lake. And that was why she’d allowed him to hold her after her bad dream. It all made sense now. She was simply under the influence of his alien biology.
Drek.
Abruptly, he unwound his serpetri from her and pushed her from his lap.
“If the cur isn’t convinced by now, it never will be,” he said shortly.
He picked up the bag and resumed walking as if nothing had happened.
Kara gasped as though she’d had a bucket of ice water dashed in her face. She got to her feet, confused and disorientated, and wondered what the hell had just happened.