Page 340 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Tucking the backpack into a fork of branches, Jakar grinned at my worried face and stretched out his four impressive arms. “Let me get to the top of this tree to figure out where we need to go to get a good vantage point.” Then he was gone, just leaping up, grabbing some handhold high above me, and disappearing between the leaves.

You’d think his red skin meant he was extremely visible among all the green, but I lost track of him almost immediately.

This felt lonelier than any other moment since my kidnapping.

I felt a little pit open up deep in my belly; I didn’t like this.

Which was odd, considering I’d been trying to be alone, to hide in my room, since the moment I’d arrived on the Vagabond.

I guess I liked having Jakar around more than I thought I did.

He helped distract me from what I’d been through, and his optimism was helping me look to the future rather than the past. If I dwelled on what I’d lost or on what I’d done, I’d sink into this hole I might never crawl out of.

At least here in the woods, I felt too exposed—like someone was always watching—to really sink into my mind.

“Got it,” Jakar announced so suddenly that I screamed, nearly toppling backward from my precarious perch on my tree branch.

Two hands hurriedly caught me by the shoulders, his eyes growing wide as he hung off a branch above my head like he was freaking Spider-Man or something, looking at me upside down, face close to mine, his spots turning pink again…

I groaned, reaching up to grab his face.

“You scared me, you big lunkhead…” And then I did the unthinkable, I leaned in and pressed my mouth to his half-opened, surprised one.

He was warm, his lips soft, and his breath was fresh.

Heat curled through my body at the point of contact with force, my belly clenching.

This was just what I needed to feel real again, like I was the me from before the kidnapping, the competent paralegal with her own apartment.

A deep growl vibrated between us, and then Jakar was all motion, pulling away only to twist his body so he landed upright on the branch in front of me.

Then I was suddenly in his lap, riding a pair of muscled thighs, my back pinned against the trunk of the tree, and all four of his hands on me.

His mouth claimed mine with more enthusiasm than skill, slanting over mine, licking at the inside.

All I had to do was show him what I liked, and he eagerly followed suit.

Then one hand curled over my belly, sliding up until a thumb feathered along the underside of my breast. The jolt of desire that hit me at that slight touch was so strong, so powerful that it frightened me a little.

I yanked back my head, and Jakar immediately froze in place, his yellow eyes huge, his chest heaving as he sucked in air in greedy lungfuls, like he’d forgotten to breathe entirely.

For a long while, we just watched each other, my thoughts spiraling in circles.

The desire he felt was obvious, not just in the bright color of the spots that decorated his face.

I could feel the hard bar of his cock beneath my thighs, burning into me like it was a brand.

But the look in his eyes? I couldn’t decipher it.

“Thank you,” he murmured at last, his voice husky and rough.

“I had never kissed anyone before, and it is beyond my wildest imaginings.” His upper hands gently smoothed along my shoulders and down my arms in a warm caress that I felt all the way to the bone.

I grappled with what he’d just told me. His first kiss? Had he never?

I couldn’t keep looking at his face, so I dropped my eyes, first staring at the warm mouth that had just driven me crazy.

Then I eyed the stubborn, sharp line of his square jaw, and the rough black stubble that gave him a rakish, pirate-like appearance.

My eyes landed on the column of his throat, and for the first time, I noticed fine lines that circled his thick neck.

My stomach instantly went cold at the sight.

Only one thing came to mind that could have made scars like that.

When I looked back up, his spots were no longer pink; the freckles had gone a soft blue, not full sadness, but something approaching that.

“Come on, I know where we should go next,” he said gently.

He gathered me into his arms quietly after he’d pulled the backpack on. Our mood was subdued as he started climbing and walking, utilizing the mid-level of these giant trees as his own personal highway.

Fine, I’d let him keep that to himself for now.

I didn’t want to talk about what I’d gone through either.

I’d just focus on the here and now, on what I felt, being this close to him.

That was easier. That felt good. A thought intruded on those fuzzy feelings: Katja.

What about her? He’d looked at her too. Had he talked to her on the ship, watched her—just like he’d watched me? I had to know.

*

Jakar

I was floating on air as I climbed from one tree to the next with my precious burden in my arms. Meena’s taste was still in my mouth, and I hoped it wouldn’t fade until I had the chance to kiss her again.

She’d withdrawn when I’d touched her, but I didn’t count that as a loss.

She needed to ease into this. That she’d been the one to kiss me first meant she was feeling the mating bond between us, just like I was.

This wasn’t one-sided. She just needed to be courted slowly, but at last, she was letting me in.

That reminded me, I hadn’t given her anything yet today.

I hadn’t even let her know that I’d rescued the necklace and bracelet I’d made for her.

Mentally, I cataloged what I’d taken with me, trying to settle on the most appropriate gift for now.

The knife was yesterday’s, which I should have given her that morning, only I’d decided not to, because everyone kept warning me to back off.

If she’d had it, would she have fought off her kidnappers?

If she’d had it, would I be flying away from Rakex by now while she settled into her new life here?

No sense in thinking of what-ifs, though I was very good at that.

Thinking of the might-be’s was once my favorite pastime.

She was here, and so was I, and it filled me with hope that things would work out for us.

So what if she froze a little? We’d take it slow again next time; I’d let her set the pace.

“Did you watch her too?” she asked, her voice firm. She had her face tucked against my shoulder, still a little apprehensive about looking down as we traveled, but she wasn’t afraid. I didn’t understand the question, which she? The only one I’d watched was her. The only one I wanted was her.

“I don’t understand,” I said, pausing to assess the best way to get from the tree we were in to the next one. There was a little more distance between these giants. On my own, I would have risked a jump, but with Meena in my arms, I wanted to be a little more careful.

She huffed, chin coming up to shoot me a feisty glare. I grinned in return, liking the sass on her face far more than the stillness and paleness from before. “You know, Katja? The other black-haired human you rescued?”

Ah, she was jealous, she wanted to claim her territory, did she?

I liked this; I liked this a lot. “I watched no one but you,” I said solemnly, making sure she saw that I was deadly serious.

Then, when I saw the tension ease from her face, I grinned at her.

“I was a total ‘stalker’ for you. Didn’t you notice?

” That’s what Camila had called my behavior—she’d said it like it was a bad thing—and I hadn’t cared.

Now, my poor attempt at a joke made Meena break out into laughter, and my chest felt warm, as if my heart had suddenly grown two sizes.

“Almost there,” I added, gesturing with one hand at the towering tree in the distance, already visible through the branches of the tree we occupied.

That tree was easily twice as tall as the ones that made up this forest of already enormous trees.

It was the perfect vantage point for looking out over the forest. I hoped the land didn’t curve so much that it would hide the spaceport and city.

Now I just had to get us across the gap between the trees, and we’d be on the homestretch, so to speak.

Then my eyes snagged on a long strand of vine dangling from a branch higher up in the tree we were in, and my mind sparked with an idea.

A few steps from one branch to the next, a little higher, and we were there.

Meena turned her head when we changed our trajectory.

“Oh no, you can’t be serious. I know you’re all Tarzan, but this is crazy!

” I had no clue who or what this Tarzan was, and I didn’t want her comparing me to any previous males she’d known.

Testing the vine, I made sure it could carry our weight, and then I took the leap with a giant grin, loving the thrill.

Meena didn’t enjoy our acrobatic crossing nearly as much, a scream ripped from her throat, followed by some very imaginative swearing.

It didn’t dampen my mood a bit, and when she fell quiet, I made sure to tilt her chin so I could kiss her again—just a quick peck this time—and she kissed me back like I knew she would.