Page 6 of 80% Beef 20% Cake (Alien Fated Mates #2)

6

“ P ut me down, JayJay,” I said for the third time. But it wasn’t until I’d removed my mitten and rubbed my thumb over a bloody gash in his otherwise smooth brow that he loosened his grip. Surprised by the velvet-soft texture under my fingertips, I lingered for a moment longer.

A hot rush of blood flooded back into my legs when he released me. After being clasped in his powerful arms for so long, I hobbled, clinging to the rough walls of the cave for support.

In the dim light, tiny scrapes stood out on his face and hands where loose rocks and sticks had nicked his skin. A large gash curled behind his ear, oozing blood.

A chill ran through me now that I was no longer in his arms. I jerked my head back to look at the sliver of dusk-lit sky shadowing the entrance, and a full-on tremor ratcheted up my spine. Far from quiet, the hellsna smashed against the cave entrance.

“Jesus, that thing doesn’t give up.” To distract myself, I crouched, legs protesting, to unzip my bag. “We need to get you cleaned up. I have a first aid kit somewhere in my supplies.” My swollen fingers fumbled through the contents, taking twice as long. “We’re safe here, right?” I lifted my gaze.

He nodded. “It’s nothing. You are not under obligation to care for me.” His deep voice rumbled as he reversed deeper into the tunnel. “Let’s move away from the entrance.”

Obligation? “Just accept the help, King Kong. No need to get all weird on me.”

Another screech ripped through the dark cave. My stomach clenched—it was déjà vu. I’d been trapped by a hellsna with Makir and his pregnant sister-in-law in a different cave not long ago. JayJay had saved us then, too.

I need to stay far, far away from caves.

I’d always been able to portray an outward calm, even when my insides were plummeting down a roller coaster. I tipped my head toward the entrance, where the hellsna wormed back and forth, and forced the wobble from my voice. “Anything we can do about that?”

“Not without my team of soldiers and a bloodroot fungus dart.” He spoke with authority. “We must move away so it can’t hear us.”

Nodding, I gestured for JayJay to pass my pack over and pulled out a flashlight. I left the comment about the bloody mushroom and his team to sort out later. With a stiff roll of my shoulders and a shaky step forward, I delved deeper into the Starry Mountain.

“I can do it,” I grunted as JayJay lifted my pack from my aching shoulders.

As if Geo could sense my stubbornness, a conversation we’d had over coffee surfaced. “ To be a true friend, I needed to quit being so stubborn and accept help. That friendship didn’t work if only one person did all the giving .”

A sharp pang shot down the outside of my arm as I tried to reclaim my bag. All right, Geo, I’m listening. Though my body may have forced the issue. If we were friends, being trapped together wouldn’t be so bad, right? I released my pathetic grip and let the towering giant with superhuman strength and agility carry it. Deep down, I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

On second thought, superhuman would be an insult. I bet even among Rock Dwellers, JayJay was extraordinary. My lips parted, then snapped shut. Why couldn’t I muster a thanks? A small thank you for carrying my bag was peanuts when he’d saved my life, but thank-yous had been as few and far between as praise growing up.

I followed JayJay into the tunnel with slow, careful steps over the uneven ground. No matter how much I’d craved my parents’ validation, it had never come. Not when I’d made dinner because they were running late, or cleaned the house because they had an important deadline, or won my high school’s prestigious fashion award. That was just the expectation.

The light from my flashlight swept over the dripping ceiling. A plinking tune echoed through the tunnel as the condensation rained onto the floor.

Something niggled at the edge of my fuzzy brain. “Hey.” I tapped on my wristport as I plodded ahead. “Do you have coverage? We should send a com to Sisip.”

JayJay scowled as he checked his wristport. “Wait here.” Then he stormed back the way we’d come.

I rammed my mittens into my jacket pocket and tried not to roll my eyes at his dickish behavior. One minute, he was my sweet savior, the next, he’d turned King Kong. A hellsna’s shriek confirmed that he’d reached the cave entrance to attempt to get reception.

Later. I’d thank JayJay later. As soon as we stopped. Just because I’d been raised on a diet of neglect and emotional detachment didn’t mean it defined me. I’d praised my coworkers a million times over on past jobs, especially ones that involved sequins. We wouldn’t have been out here in the first place if I hadn’t been so stubborn about delivering the bakery owner his stupid hat at this weekend’s market.

“I’ve alerted Sisip to our location. I believe the message transmitted.”

I jumped, startled by his booming voice. How had I not heard him approach? I rummaged through my pocket, searching for the necklace I’d placed there earlier. I’d taken it off when Geo’s dogs wouldn’t stop jumping at the little elephants every time the bells jingled.

Shit, Geo’s dogs! TeyTey’s going to kill me. I should’ve picked them up already. She wasn’t their biggest fan, but her sons would be all over the extended stay. A smile cracked my chapped lips.

“Hey, JayJay, c’mere and give me your wrist.” I chuckled at my idea even as his forehead ridge dipped. He lifted his arm without question.

“It’s not your fault, but you’re scaring the bejeezus out of me with your silent stalker walk.” I wound the necklace twice around his huge wrist. “Consider this my early warning system.”

His forest-green eyes widened in surprise. Or…pleasure? “Ginger, are you gifting this to me?” One enormous fingertip dwarfed the tiny elephant he jostled.

A shy smile softened all his rocky edges, and deep in my stomach, a spark stirred. When he tucked his chin into his massive chest and lifted the necklace-turned-bracelet to eye level, my insides gushed. That was not at all the reaction I’d expected after stealing his stealthiness.

“Yeah, sure, JayJay. Consider it a gift.” Although I meant to be cheeky, my voice broke, and my mouth went dry, choked up that such a towering man had turned so tender. I shifted away to find relief from the unfamiliar swish warming my belly and moved deeper into the mountain.

Unburdened, I carried nothing more than my flashlight. Still, each dragging step pained me, and our progress through the dark tunnel was sluggish. Yellow light flickered against the porous black walls in a puppet show of eerie shadows. The tiny sponge-like holes were brittle and broke when I pressed my throbbing finger against one, dulling the texture, but they looked like an overpriced loofah I’d bought once. Ahead, JayJay jingled, his smooth strides turning jerky as he slowed to match mine.

I tied my coat around my waist and pushed up the sleeves of my thermal shirt. The growing heat, blissful as it was, didn’t counter the fact that the muscle spasms in my legs were becoming unbearable. I needed rest. We’d been walking for over an hour, but with my nerves shot, I’d never get any sleep in a narrow tunnel open to unknown predators at both ends.

The air grew more humid, and JayJay’s deep breaths turned to contented rumbles beside me. Just when I thought another step might break me, the rough-sided tunnel we’d been following dipped and opened into a lush valley, as if someone had inserted an oasis into the mountain. A warm orange glow lit the space.

I gasped and clutched JayJay’s hand. “Holy shit!”

“Bless the goddess Sola.” JayJay dropped to his knees. “It’s like home.”

Am I dreaming?

A solid squeeze from JayJay’s warm hand anchored me to reality.

Long vines dotted with trumpet-shaped flowers stretched like cobwebs throughout the enormous chamber. Spiky blue cucumber-type plants climbed the walls, and under my feet, an ocean-colored mat of moss carpeted the ground. I walked toward a bright glow bouncing off the moss’s trampoline-like surface. Heavy tropical air filled my lungs, and the tinkle of dripping water echoed, verdant and alive. It was the opposite of the frigid temperatures just a short distance away. The diversity of life displayed astounded me.

JayJay purred beside me like an overgrown cat.

“Are you purring?” I stumbled in the soft moss, clutching my cramped thigh. Heat lashed my face from the yawning crevice that opened below. JayJay jingled my only warning before he yanked my wrist, and I slammed into his solid side.

JayJay released his grip. “It’s not water. It’s magma.” Then he scowled. “And I’m not a cat. Rock Dwellers have a rumba in their chests.”

Holy crow, that explained the sweat. Deep inside a vertical canyon, a river of molten magma wound through the Starry Mountains.

“It’s a volcano,” JayJay stated as if just clueing into something much bigger.

“Yeah, I figured that one out on my own.” From where JayJay deemed safe, I stared into the river of magma, mesmerized. My eyelids started to droop. The sauna-like heat zapped what little strength I had left. I peeled off my long-sleeved shirt, leaving me in a DIY tie-dyed tank top.

JayJay stared, fixated for the length of a breath before he planted his gaze firmly on the ground. Then he loosened some vines from the volcanic rock wall, exposing a space large enough for the both of us to shelter in. “Come, you need rest and water.”

I yielded to JayJay’s commands and let him tug me across the sea of bouncy moss to the cavern wall. “You holding out on me?” How the hell did he know that there would be a little cave behind all those vines?

“There’s light shining through the vines.” JayJay’s rumbling voice synced with the vibrations of his purr.

I guessed that meant he was happy? This place seemed to totally revive him.

JayJay jumped into the raised opening, bent over and grasped me under the arms. Before I could stop him, my legs dangled from the ledge of the alcove, and my ass sat in a pile of cushy moss.

I slapped at his arm. “Stop picking me up like that, would ya?”

Every time he did, tendrils of delicious heat simmered low in my belly, and I wanted nothing to do with the unbidden attraction. I needed to focus on getting better, returning to Earth and rebuilding my career.

JayJay carefully removed his coat, his head barely clearing the domed ceiling, then spread it out and tucked my mittens into my hat to form a pillow. “Rest.” He patted his threadbare coat with one large hand.

I elbow-crawled over the soft moss to the inviting bed, not caring how desperate I looked. The springy mattress enveloped me and I sighed. Our tiny cave was far enough from the river of magma that I’d stopped sweating, but I had a new problem. My nose filled with JayJay’s musky aroma, a scent my traitorous body now associated with safety. As I drifted off, light fingers unlaced my boots.

“This female is going to be the blanting death of me,” he muttered before sleep overcame me.

I woke feeling rested. A huge, velvety palm lifted from my forehead. Stretching my arms above my head, I moaned. My hips wiggled deeper into the luxurious plushness for a moment before I shot up, clutching my chest as yesterday’s events flooded back.

A reminder chimed on my wristport, my monitoring app oh so helpfully letting me know to take my medicine. “Goddamn it.” I pressed the heels of my palms to my eyes. How could I have been so stupid?

JayJay had propped a few oversized trumpet-shaped flowers in the corner of our… bedroom. On his knees beside me, he poured the contents of one of the beautiful blooms over a cloth. “It’s not that bad.” Smudged in foxglove-painted pinks and whites, the petals bled into each other like a watercolor. After discarding the flower and fabric, he passed the water bottle to me. “Here, drink this.”

If it had been anyone else, I would’ve had a million questions to ask before accepting an unknown drink from an unknown flower on an unknown planet. But today…one heroic rescue from an avalanche and a giant fucking worm was all it took for me to shed my staunch independence and rely on JayJay. The mild nectar soothed my parched throat, a perfect tonic, and I guzzled the liquid with ravenous gulps.

Vines covered the door, letting a dim orange glow through the gaps, and humid lilac-flavored air dissolved like honey on my tongue. The tension had lifted from JayJay’s eyes, softening his face.

“Thanks.” I returned his water bottle and tried to form a more adequate response. “So… you’ve saved my life a few times now.” I dipped my chin to take in my sock-clad feet. “And I wanted to tell you…” His fixed gaze felt like a warm blanket. On a deep breath, I forced myself to maintain eye contact no matter how that warm blanket made me itch. I shoved my tangled hair behind my shoulders and started again. “In fact, it’s a super big deal. Even if you’re tall and swift and very strong. Like, the biggest deal.” I choked out the last of my jumbled apology, “Ahem. Sorry, JayJay. I owe you one. Big time. I should’ve picked somewhere safer to trap.” I leaned closer and patted his enormous bicep. “Thank you.”

He didn’t say anything for the longest time. Thanks, Mom and Dad. I just won the dorkiest apology ever award. Frozen except for his thumb, JayJay swiped it over mine in an absent caress where I patted his bicep. Then, with no jingle to warn me, he shifted to his knees, stood and lurched toward the vines, tangling himself and tripping as he escaped.

“Well, that went about as expected,” I muttered. So, I suck at apologies. Tell me something I don’t know. I plucked at the mossy floor as a heavy weight dragged at my chest. Uncertain how safe I’d be if I tried to follow him, I stayed put, swallowing around the lump in my throat and distracting myself by going through his spare set of clothes.

My inner seamstress cringed. His pants had more holes than cloth. Lucky for JayJay, I never traveled without my sewing kit. If only I’d gotten around to adding in the little pocket for my meds or restocking the mini first aid kit… But there’d always been a pair of mittens to make, or a linobee hat or a hoverbike to learn to ride. JayJay had spare clothes, but I didn’t even have my meds. It figured.

While trimming the ragged edges around his knees, I hummed, happy to be in my element. But when the monitoring app blipped at me again, I grew silent. I hadn’t checked off that I’d taken today’s prescribed dose.

How long would it take Sisip to get here? I reworked a messy stitch. How long would the hellsna guard the entrance? It would get bored eventually, right? I bit back a curse as I pricked my finger with the needle. “Damn it!”

Fingers like blocks, I finished the final repairs on JayJay’s coat-turned-blanket. I rubbed my hands together to minimize the tingle in my fingertips, staring at the teeny holes in the walls until my eyes watered. The vines swung open, breaking my trance, and a large armful of the blue cucumbers landed at my feet before JayJay jumped inside. A few starbugs flew in, peppering the air with flashes of blue light.

“What are you doing?” His booming voice didn’t bother me so much anymore.

“JayJay, you need some new clothes.” I frowned, ignoring our earlier…moment. “These are mended for now, but they’re in terrible shape.”

“You fixed my clothes?” His fingers plucked at the hole in the pants he wore, and the elephant charms tinkled. “And you gave me a gift?” He lifted his bracelet and jiggled it until the elephants danced in front of his eyes. They shone in the low light. “And you called me tall, swift and very strong—a compliment.” His deep green eyes grew wider and the rumble of his voice deeper. The air in the small, humid hollow grew electric, charged with energy.

What’s happening?

JayJay launched himself at me where I sat cross-legged in the soft blue moss. His lips, much softer than I imagined, pushed against mine in an awkward embrace. An unexpected tickle pricked along my sensitive nerves, drawing me in for more. But when I tipped backward at JayJay’s sudden advance, and he mashed his lips over mine much too hard, my desire turned to annoyance.

What the hell?

My arms were pinned between us, and if JayJay didn’t swallow me first, with all his weight on top of me, the bed of moss surely would.

“JayJay,” I hissed between our squashed lips.

Oblivious to my words, he continued to roll his lips over mine in a strange mockery of a kiss. I had to end this. But how?

“Blant.” He jerked upright, laving his tongue over the spot I’d just bitten. It had been the only way I could think of to make it stop.

“Get off of me, you big oaf.” Now that I could speak again and free my arms, I pushed against his unyielding chest and scooted out from underneath him. His frantic eyes darted back and forth before he flopped on his back, directing all his pent-up desire at the pin-holed black ceiling. One thick finger ran over his plump lip where I’d bitten him. The hurt flickering in his eyes before he snapped his gaze away made me want to smooth my tongue over the angry swelling I’d left behind.

He focused on the ceiling. “But those are the signs…”

When he met my eyes, the expression on his face held so much shame I wanted to reach out and hug him. That probably wouldn’t go over well after shoving him off me though.

He cleared his throat, and pink bloomed above his strong jawline. “Rock Dweller younglings are taught that when a female desires a male, she will compliment him, gift him with a small token and care for his well-being.”

I swallowed hard. Oh. My. Gosh! What have I done?

“But you are human, not a Rock Dweller. It doesn’t mean the same to you. Please accept my sincere apology.” His gaze flickered everywhere except my eyes. “It will not happen again.” He shoved a blue cucumber thingy at me. “Eat.”

“Wait…” I called after him. But he’d rushed off before I had a chance to apologize.

I’d behaved like the biggest brat ever. Not only that, but I hadn’t even said anything when he’d apologized so much more eloquently than me. Growling at my inaction, I threw the blue cucumber things straight through the vine-covered door. I should follow him, but it was better this way. He was clearly embarrassed.

A big, strong Rock Dweller blushing like a little boy. I planted my face in my palms, groaning. “You’re the worst, Ginger.” I’d crushed his King Kong-sized heart. I absently picked up another blue cucumber and bit into it. My eyes widened at the sweet juiciness. Of course, it was delicious.