Chapter 5 #3
Heat blasted into my face from the light glowing from the red eye at the center of Corin’s palm.
At first, it felt intense and bordered on pain, but as the heat washed over my skull, the throbbing ache started to ease.
In just a few short minutes my headache vanished and my nausea eased. “Thank you.”
He vanished back to the pilot as silently as he’d approached me, not a word uttered.
He hadn’t tried to touch me to help ease the language barrier, which just drove home that Reid was right.
It was a thing exclusively between Zathar and me.
And the excited beat of my heart told me how much I loved that, which proved his other point.
I was desperate for approval, for a place to be wanted, and desired.
Zathar returned with his arms full of leafy things which he dropped at Corin’s side without ceremony and without a word.
As he turned and faced me, my breath caught in my throat at the sight of him.
He was magnificent, his scales glittering azure, with hints of green and silver in the warm light of the lanterns.
His chest was sculpted with muscle, heavy pectorals, a row of washboard abs, and that lovely v-ridge leading to his groin area which was emphasized by his hips tapering into that giant tail instead of a pair of legs.
His azure eyes glowed like a cat’s in the light, the slitted pupils declaring their reptilian roots.
I loved how alien his features were while at the same time being so similar.
His chin jutted into a pair of pointy horns, bone-white compared to the rest of him.
His eyebrows were a ridge of thicker, more arrow-shaped scales, and his long hair was tied in a topknot.
The bright azure strands a slightly lighter blue.
My heart started racing, my mouth went a little dry, and arousal tingled through my belly, making it clench with a sharp lance of near pain.
He approached, because he had never heard of a thing called personal space, and his tail slithered around my ankle as he settled next to me on the edge of the nest. “I am back, mate.”
If Reid hadn’t said what he said, I wouldn’t have been in this weird head funk, I wouldn’t have exploded.
But he had so that’s what happened. I shot to my feet, anger washing over me.
Anger that came from many things but there was only one outlet right now.
It wasn’t like I could have another shouting match with my cruel mother or disinterested father.
“Stop touching me!” I yelled out, and grabbing that sneaky tip of his tail, I yanked it from my ankle.
It curled around my palm, the thick muscle contracting and holding on tight.
There was no escaping his grip, and when he rose on the thicker part of his tail, balancing over me, it was clear that I’d been dealing with his soft side so far. This was not the soft side of Zathar.
His face seemed more angled, fiercer, and more feral.
He looked savage when gripped by his own anger, his lips growing thin, his eyes huge pools of blue as the pupils contracted even more.
“I am touching you so that we can speak! You know this,” he hissed at me.
His split tongue flicked out of his mouth, lashing the air before it withdrew again.
His expression grew harsher, arrogant, with a hint of smugness that infuriated me even more.
“But it doesn’t work like that for the others!
Does it?” I pointed at Reid and Cosima who were staring at us with fascination.
“You’re not touching them so you can talk!
” I said and tried to stalk away. The tip of his tail still clinging to my hand meant I didn’t get much further than fifteen feet before I was yanked to a stop.
Zathar hissed, the sound angry and threatening, causing Cosima to whimper in fear. I didn’t feel scared, he could hiss and growl all he wanted, I wasn’t going to let him push me around. Even if he was a big snake with huge muscles. Even if he was our host and currently our best bet at survival.
“You should not be thinking of touching others, only me!” he said, while his tail pulled on my fingers.
I stumbled forward, and then again as he kept on pulling.
I dug in my feet, pulling back as hard as I could but my soft shoes slid across the smooth stone floor.
With my free hand, I tried to wrest my captured fingers from his tight grip, but apparently, he shared some traits with a boa constrictor or something.
“Hey! Let her go!” Reid yelled out, rising to his feet and stalking over, his chest puffed up, his fists clenched. Well thanks, buddy. You yell at me, and now you’re coming to my defense? Make up your damn mind. I didn’t need him to rescue me, I fought my own battles.
Zathar’s growl rattled through the cave, deep and primal.
My skin broke out in goosebumps and the fine hairs on the back of my neck rose.
“Stay out of this, male,” he said, not that Reid could understand the words.
He made sure the human understood the sentiment by pulling one of his short swords free and angling the blade tip straight for Reid’s throat. There was no clearer threat.
A final yank sent me tumbling forward so quickly that I realized he’d been holding back before, letting me put up that little fight.
Probably because he thought my resistance was funny.
I collided with his chest and shimmering lines along his pecs and belly lit up with a glow that was nearly white.
“Is my mating display not good enough for you? Have I not shown you what a capable male I am?”
One arm curled around my waist, pinning me to his body, and the other still pointed his sword at Reid. The man had raised both his hands in the air in a sign of surrender and was slowly backing up, his eyes huge. “Are you okay, Vera?”
I was far from okay but I shrugged and nodded at him.
My panties were soaked and that was not at all what I wanted to be feeling right now.
I was angry damn it, not turned on by that display of strength.
But seriously, what guy had ever asked me if he was good enough for me?
No one. Mating display… My God, he was serious, he wanted me for his mate.
Then I was struck with that familiar sense of inadequacy.
All of this just meant he wanted me because his whatever things lit up on his chest, it didn’t mean he wanted me.
“I’m not your mate, Zathar,” I told him, but my fingers were digging into his chest, holding him instead of trying to push away.
He growled at me, his tongue flicking out so far that it almost touched my nose.
The look in his eyes could only be called heated and I was struck with the horrifying thought that maybe, like a real snake, he could actually taste scents with that tongue.
“Yes, you are.” He hissed, and his head dipped lower, his jutting chin horns grazing his own chest. “Mine. Forever.” I was convinced he was going to kiss me, stake his claim, and steal a little part of me.
But he didn’t, his forehead brushed mine, the bumpy texture of his scales smooth and warm against my skin. The gesture was gentle, almost sweet.
“You only want me because your chest lit up like a Christmas tree,” I shot back, but much softer this time. I was suddenly aware of how much of a spectacle we were making; everyone was staring and Reid and Cosima could understand every word I said, we hadn’t exactly been quiet.
“That is not true!” he denied, but when I tried to yank myself out of his arms, he let me go.
That was all the confirmation I needed; it was true.
He didn’t know me from Adam, so that was all it could be.
My face felt hot from embarrassment. If my mother was here, she’d have plenty to say about how much I’d screwed this up.
How stupid I was for even hoping a little.
Shuddering, I fought to hold back my wild tangle of emotion, and spinning on my heels, I ran.