CHAPTER FIVE
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Jillian
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WHAT THE HELL just happened?
I ran, my boots pounding against the hard ground, sending jolts of shock shivering through my body. Panting, I gasped for breath, my heart racing.
No-no-no-no-no. I can’t have screwed everything up!
A sob caught in my throat, but I swallowed it down.
If growing up without parents had taught me one thing, it was that crying never did any good.
The Moretti’s were always kind, but they both worked in food production, which meant long hours of hard labor.
There’d never been a lot of energy left over.
God! I didn’t even get any tech! Hopefully, the vid I’d filmed had caught something, anything, to make all of this worthwhile.
But his words echoed in my head: “You have lost the planet for your people.” His voice had been deep—so deep it had vibrated in my chest.
I slowed as the path grew steeper.
The enemy shouldn’t have been so handsome—it wasn’t right. But the high, sharp cheekbones and the piercing green eyes were better than anything I’d ever imagined.
And his smell! I licked my lips. Spicy, like something that might taste sweet or might taste like fire. My body tingled with excitement.
This is wrong, JJ. Even for you, it’s wrong!
Sure, I’d been a bit wild when I was younger, but that didn’t mean I wanted to screw an alien, did it?
And was he coming after me even now? The constant rush of river water covered all but the loudest of sounds he might have made. I risked a glance over my shoulder, but the curve of the mountain hid the varoolian building.
I kept going. Wind slapped me in the face with the first sting of rain, and the sky darkened dramatically overhead.
The storm had almost found me. My boots skittered across loose gravel.
I had to get across the river before things got worse.
The raised rocks I used to cross were tricky under good circumstances, and pouring rain would make them slippery.
Thunder rumbled, loud enough that it seemed to shake the ground beneath my feet. Another glance back showed a dark blur of movement. My heart rate spiked.
He was chasing me.
God! He already had proof I’d violated the peace agreement. What more did he want?
A sick, heavy feeling twisted my stomach. I darted forward.
But I’d never be fast enough.
A gust of wind knocked me sideways, toward the sheer drop. I gasped, unable to get enough air as a jolt of fear locked my chest tight.
More thunder, going on and on. Was that natural?
Something hit my shoulder.
What the hell?
Impacts—my thigh, my arm, my back.
A wall of noise roared overhead.
I twisted my head toward the mountain. A rush of moving stone above me. A sharp rock struck my forehead. I ducked forward, slow, too slow!
My legs wobbled as the ground shook beneath my feet.
A massive, hard force struck my back, carrying me toward a dark patch on the mountainside. A boulder?
No. Strong arms wrapped around me, taking the worst of the blow as we hit the ground.
Rock crashed and roared behind us, and everything went black.
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Something wet swiped my cheek, and I moaned and tried to bat it away. But I couldn’t move my arm.
What the...?
My eyes opened, or at least I thought they did. It was pitch black. I blinked repeatedly, and my eyes strained, attempting to focus on something they couldn’t see.
The wetness came again, making me jerk my head back.
It collided with something firm, but thankfully not quite as hard as the surface under me.
I lay on my side, and bands of steel enwrapped me, trapping my arms to my torso.
I maneuvered one forearm around until I could raise it enough to grope along whatever held me. Firm muscle.
The alien!
My whole body jerked as a spurt of adrenaline shot through me. But instead of releasing me, the arms tightened.
“Let me go.”
No response.
I jammed my finger into his arm. “Let. Me. Go!”
The Varool didn’t move, but something clattered in front of me.
“Hello?” As soon as I said it, I felt foolish. There weren’t any other people around but me and him.
More noises—something solid striking stone. Then a pitiful little bleat sounded, and the wetness touched my face again. An animal?
Okay. I didn’t know what the hell this was, but I couldn’t lie here all tangled up in alien while something licked me! I wiggled, slipping down out of his grasp a centimeter at a time. It took forever.
Finally, I sat up. Everywhere hurt! I felt like I’d been beaten. What had happened? There’d been a noise and rocks and movement... I shook my head. Everything after that had turned into a blur.
Another clatter, and something brushed against my thigh. I reached through the impenetrable darkness and touched something warm.
That little bleat again, and a small body pressed against my leg, trembling.
It must be one of the goat-lopes! The strange-looking creatures were the biggest animals on these mountains, but this one felt like a baby.
I ran my hand over it, caressing the crisp hair—it wasn’t as soft as a cat’s, but it was still nice.
When I reached the head, two hard lumps rested on top. Yes, it was definitely a goat-lope.
“What are you doing in here?” I whispered.
And where was here? I needed light. Oh, yeah! I dug in my pocket for my tablet, but when I pulled it free, it refused to turn on, broken.
“Shit.”
Maybe the alien had something.
I gave the animal a pat, then turned. My hands ran over solid muscle—his chest, his really nice chest. Focus, JJ!
I checked his neck, strangely relieved he had a pulse. This guy might have been the enemy—or if not an enemy, then a competitor—but that didn’t mean I wanted him dead.
I searched lower. He had no pockets on his jacket, and the belt slung around his hips held only a bottle, a sword, and a hand gun. I eased the last one from its holster and set it behind me. I left the blade. All of the aliens carried them, and they seemed ceremonial more than anything.
My hands stroked over the bulging muscles of his thighs. Damn, this guy was built.
Hard, hot flesh wrapped bands of iron around my wrist.
Heat flared across my cheeks. Shit! He’s awake! And he just caught me groping him.