Page 25 of Prison Moon
He stuck his head around the side of the boulder and looked in at her. “Stay here. If anything comes in, scream and use the fire if you have to. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
In the time it took to move the boulder, she’d covered herself with the length of cloth she’d discarded earlier and his anger at whatever was out there returned. He’d been moments away from claiming her and now she was frightened again. The unfortunate creature making all that noise was going to die painfully for his interruption.
* * *
Sara stared at the huge boulder Toren had apparently rolled in front of the cave entrance for a full five minutes after he’d left. How in the world had he moved that massive thing by himself? It had to weight a good ton.
Whatever was out there in the trees was still doing whatever it was doing to make all that noise. It sounded as if there were trees being uprooted and thrown and she hoped it wasn’t because anything that big meant it was possibly the dragon she thought she’d seen when the tree monster attacked her and being stalked by a dragon the size of a mountain would probably end very badly for her. As capable as Toren seemed, she had no doubt he’d be no match for a dragon hellbent on having her.
She dressed quickly, the foul-smelling garments ridiculously too big. Both of her legs fit into one of the pant legs and the sleeveless shirt had armholes so big she was probably flashing some serious side-boob. She kicked the pants away, settling on the shirt. It fell to mid-thigh. Her ass was still bare underneath it but at least if she bent over, no one would see it.
She paced the cave waiting for Toren to come back and as much as she wanted to deny it, her skin still tingled where he’d touched her. He’d shocked her sneaking up on her like that but the shock died the instant he’d touched her. That crazy lust she felt around him came roaring back in an instant and she was ashamed to say, if the thing outside hadn’t started making so much noise, she’d probably be on her back this very moment. A small part of her was disappointed she wasn’t, even if it made her a bit slutty to think so.
The critter Toren had spitted and put over the fire was cooked through. She rummaged through the things he’d gotten from somewhere and found a flat wooden disk she assumed was a plate of some kind and a knife with a solid white blade. The handle was wrapped in what looked like dark, tanned leather but the blade itself—she ran a finger over the side of it—it was smooth to the touch and running it over the meat told her it was sharp. Whatever the blade was made from, it wasn’t any sort of metal she’d ever seen.
She cut the meat away from the bones, piling it up on the wooden plate and settled back on her pallet bed when Toren stepped back inside the cave. He looked no different than he had when he left so whatever had been out there must have been gone by the time he’d found it.
He crossed to the stash of water and washed his hands then lowered himself to the ground beside her. “It’s gone. I have no idea what it was. I’ve never seen one before.” He picked up a piece of the meat, blew on it to cool it a bit and to her surprise, turned and put it against her lips.
“Eat Sarra.”
She’d never been fed before. Well, not since she was old enough to feed herself she hadn’t and it felt a bit—decadent—having Toren feed her. The way he was looking at her made her feel deliciously special too. Maybe this alien prison moon wouldn’t be so bad. Toren acted as if she were the best thing to happen to him in—well, forever. A girl could get used to this sort of pampering.
Opening her mouth, she accepted the bite of food from him and didn’t miss the way he stared at her lips as she chewed, nor did she miss the fact he’d set the plate between them within easy reach and leaned back on one hand as he continued to feed her. “Are you not going to eat?” He didn’t answer. She wasn’t sure why she kept talking to him knowing he couldn’t understand her. Habit, she supposed. She let him feed her three more bites before she shook her head and redirected his hand to his own mouth. “You eat too.”
“Have you had enough?”
Not by a long shot. She shook her head and reached for a piece for herself but Toren stopped her. “When you’ve had your fill, then I’ll eat.”
Those non-existent panties she wasn’t wearing were going to melt clean off if he didn’t stop being so swoon-worthy. She played along and let him feed her, stopping him when she felt ready to bust and sat quietly as he ate what was left. She studied his profile, noticing the way his eyes shined in the firelight and wondered, if like felines with a slitted pupil, could he see well in the dark? The way he’d led her through the dark forest, she thought maybe he could.
The past week still seemed like a dream in some ways, being with Toren the only highlight she’d had since being dumped here. As frightened as she’d been when he tackled her to the ground and hid her from the others, he’d done nothing since then but take care of her and see that she was fed. She owed him her life. If not for him, she’d hate to even imagine where she’d be right now.
He finished eating and must have felt her gaze on him. He turned to look at her and she smiled. “I know you have no idea what I’m saying and even though I was a bit wary of you in the beginning, you’ve done nothing but take care of me since the moment you found me and— well, thank you. Thank you for everything. Thank you for feeding me and protecting me and thank you a million times over for those amazing orgasms you’ve given me.”
“What do those words mean?” He stared at her and said, “Thancu. What’s the meaning?”
“Thank you.” She grinned at his attempt to say it and tried to think of a way to explain. She looked at the food and pointed to it, then to him, the food, and then herself and said, “Thank you.” Turning, she pointed to the things in the corner, the too big clothing, the water, then the garment she was wearing and said, “Thank you.” The cloth pallet bed they were sitting on, then to herself. “Thank you.”
“Are you—“ He looked at everything she’d pointed to before meeting her gaze. “Are you thanking me?”
Sara threw her hands into the air and yelled, “Yes!” then laughed. “Yes, thank you.”
He gave her a devastating smile then cupped her cheek. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you, my Sarra.”
And just like that, the mood shifted and that damn spicy-sweet scent of his skin filled the air. The moment she smelled it, she knew, it was definitely some sort of pheromone because her body felt hot in an instant. Question was—did he release it on purpose or was it something that happened naturally? With communication almost non-existent, there was no way to tell. Not that it mattered. Pheromone or not, she had no doubt they would have eventually ended up horizontal at some point but was she ready to go from heavy petting to full-blown sex? They barely knew each other.
“What is that look you’re giving me?”
Sara looked away. She wasn’t sure what sort of look she was giving him. Were her thoughts written across her face?
He ran the back of one finger down her cheek. “I’ll never do anything to make you uncomfortable nor will I touch you without your permission.” He leaned forward, his lips a barely there flutter against her mouth. “What do you want, Sarra?”
What did she want? She wanted to be in her drab dorm room studying for mid-terms while scarfing down pizza and cheese puffs but she knew that wasn’t what he was asking. She studied his face, those odd violet eyes with the cat-eye slit. This was her life now. He was a part of it unless she walked out and went looking for Marcy and the others alone and she was many things but stupid wasn’t one of them, so this—whatever this was between them—was her now. Her future. He obviously wanted it and deep down, if she was honest with herself, she did too.
She leaned forward, returning that small kiss with one of her own before deepening it, her tongue slicking into his mouth. She held back a groan at the heat and taste of him, that intoxicating spicy sweet scent growing stronger and filling her head until her nipples hardened and her blood was racing through her veins.
A log on the fire popped loud enough the kiss ended abruptly as the sound startled them both. Toren shifted the firewood a bit, the blaze dying and leaving the cave in flickers of soft light. “I don’t think this wood will last through the night.” He sighed and looked her way. “I’ll need to find more. The mountain will get cold. You shivered until dawn last night.”