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CHAPTER NINE

The two days since they’d narrowly avoided becoming lunch for a ravenous pack of Luzzips had passed in a flash.

The descent down the mountain had been hasty and quite the exertion, but they’d hit the ground running, darting into the trees at the base and pushing on hard until there was simply no light left by which to safely navigate.

Things were different now. They weren’t just moving fast because of some vague threat. It was quite clear that they were being hunted, and that was more than ample motivation to press on no matter what discomforts they might endure.

As it turned out, the storm they’d seen in the distance had reached them by mid-morning the day after they’d seen it from atop the mountain.

It started out as a drizzle but eventually grew to a decent rainfall, drenching them to the bone.

Zepharos scaled a tree to get a better view of their situation, albeit a shorter one so as to ensure he was not at the highest point just in case of lightning.

They were in luck. This was just the edge of the storm, the much darker, menacing clouds and lightning still a long way away .

“We’ll be wet, but we should be okay,” he announced when his boots hit the ground.

“Then we run.”

“That we do.”

They took off once again, keeping up their near constant exertion, putting even more distance between themselves and their starting point, ignoring the discomfort of the rain. Being wet was unpleasant, but capture would be far worse.

They spent that miserable night under the cover of a hastily made shelter.

It kept them dry for the most part, but it was far from comfortable.

As before, Zepharos shared his warmth, but the two were still unable to escape the lingering chill from the cool air.

It made for an unpleasant night, and neither slept well, but that was the price of freedom.

Maria just hoped the next night would be an improvement.

She should have known better.

“Hurry!” Zepharos called to her over the cacophony of the thundering rain. “This way!”

Maria could barely see him through the downpour. Where the prior day had been miserable, this was something far worse. This was dangerous .

“Where are we going?” she yelled back as lightning flashed bright, illuminating the sky. She counted to ten before the thunder cracked loud above them.

Ten seconds. That means it’s two miles away.

It was the most random thing, but she’d remembered the lesson her father taught her when she was a little girl.

It had been the simplest of things, but by making it a game he had somehow disarmed the storm of its terror, and sitting there sipping cocoa with her dad, it was actually fun.

So much so that she grew to look forward to those quiet times spent at his side.

“Count, Maria,” he’d told her. “One mile is five seconds. ”

And now a bazillion miles from home, that lesson sprung to mind.

She was not, however, comforted.

“It’s getting closer!”

“I know,” he shouted back. “It’s too dangerous to keep going given the terrain. The risk of a flash flood is too high.”

“What do we do?”

“There’s a cavern just ahead.”

“Where? I can’t see it.”

“Trust me. My runes help me see farther than you can.”

“I trust you. Just hurry!”

He did, grabbing an armload of dead branches as he did.

Maria didn’t bother asking what he was doing.

She’d already trusted him with her life this far and wasn’t about to start second-guessing him now.

It was five miserable minutes until they reached the safety of the cavern.

Really, calling it a cavern was giving the rocky overhang more credit than it deserved.

But it was shelter, and it was dry, and that was all that mattered.

Zepharos dropped the wood and began setting up two of the longer pieces of that had smaller branches jutting out. He then started to undress.

“Strip,” he said matter-of-factly.

“What was that?”

“We need to get out of these wet clothes,” he explained, wringing out his shirt as best he could then hanging it on the branch. He then moved on to his boots, trousers, and underpants, standing stark naked in front of her.

Maria swallowed hard.

Jesus, look at this guy , she couldn’t help but marvel.

He was built, she already knew, but seeing him like this in all his glory? The way the last rivulets of water were running from his hair down his torso, streaming off the end of his girthy cock as it swung lazily between his legs? It was enough to take her mind off the chill, at least for a minute.

Maria caught herself staring and looked away before he noticed.

She turned and started to undress, shivering from the cold but knowing logically that even though she’d be shedding layers, soaked as they were, they weren’t doing her any good right now. Rather than insulating her, they were merely compounding her chill, and that simply would not do.

A flash of light sparked from behind her followed by a glorious burst of warmth across her exposed back.

She turned to look over her shoulder to find he had crouched down and made a hasty teepee of wood and managed to ignite it despite it being wet.

The flame had an odd violet coloring to it, she noted, and a slightly chemical smell.

He used something to make it burn even when it’s wet , she realized, hurrying to shed the rest of her clothes and get closer to the fire. Thank heavens he’s resourceful.

She wrung out her clothes and moved around him, brushing against him as she hung her clothes to dry.

His skin was actually cold for a change, the day spent in the rain too much for even his furnace of a body to heat, it seemed.

But he was warming quickly, and his skin was already nearly dry.

His cock was growing as well, hanging low and hitting the stone beneath him where he squatted as the warmth relaxed it to what was apparently its normal, and very impressive length.

Damn. That thing is a beast. I can’t help but wonder ? —

“Don’t get too close,” he said.

Shit.

“What was that?” she said, looking anywhere but between his legs.

“You need to be careful,” he said, nodding to the fire. “I know it feels good, but your skin is desensitized. We wouldn’t want you to burn yourself.”

“Ah, yeah, the fire. Thanks.”

Zepharos rose to his feet, his manhood swinging casually into his thigh with a thud. Incredibly, he was keeping his eyes averted, not once looking at the naked woman so close by. He slid on his boots but left his clothes hanging where they were then headed toward the exit and the pouring rain.

“Where are you going?”

“Our supplies are running low. I saw some berries growing nearby when we arrived. I’ll gather what I can.”

“But you said it’s not safe. You said it could flood.”

“The berries are close by, and the terrain will direct any flash flooding off that way,” he said, pointing to his right. He then gestured to his left. “I, on the other hand, am going over there.”

“But you’re naked.”

“Yes, I am. But my clothes are too wet to be of any protection. And as for modesty, I am not particularly shy by nature.”

Maria struggled not to let her gaze drift to the distracting beast dangling there. Clearly not .

“And there are none to see even if I were. So go warm yourself by the fire and drink a gel pack. People often forget to hydrate in this sort of situation, but water on your outside does not equate to hydration on your inside. I will be back as quickly as I can.”

With that he stepped out into the downpour, ignoring the cold and wet, the fire highlighting his chiseled ass and sculpted shoulders as the rain made them glisten, showing off his physique better than he could have done if he’d planned it.

Then he was gone into the squall, swallowed up by the pounding rain.

She sat there quietly, listening to the sounds of the storm, counting between flashes and booms as they grew closer together.

He’ll be okay. He knows what he’s doing. He’ll keep me safe.

Incredibly, she realized that she wasn’t just convincing herself of anything.

She really believed what she’d told herself, and it wasn’t just that he’d saved her, though that played a part in it too.

But more than just that, she felt secure with him.

It was hard to put into words, but despite his alleged reputation he seemed so embarrassed about, he had been nothing but a gentleman the entire time.

And given her vulnerability and reliance on him, it was quite pronounced how he had not made the slightest attempt to take advantage of the situation.

It was something she had learned not to expect of most men.

Zepharos, it seemed, was not like other men.

That’s for sure, she thought, intrusive visions of his magnificent body invading her thoughts, stirring a little flutter in her chest.

It had been a long, long time since anyone had treated her so good. And yet here she was, stranded on an alien world, thrust into a life-or-death situation against her will, and then this marvelous man happened into her world, snatching her from despair and actually giving her hope.

She was warming up now, and not just from the fire, a steady glow beginning to smolder in her belly.

It flared anew when Zepharos finally strode in from the rain, a large leaf folded to carry a considerable haul of berries.

He was carrying them at waist level, allowing Maria’s peripheral vision to marvel at his length without staring outright.

She was very aware of her nipples hardening despite the fire’s warmth.