Page 2 of Taming the Alien Outlaw (Brides of the Bohnari #2)

Janik

The female’s— Olivia’s —eyes drift shut, and her entire body goes slack.

I catch her before she falls to the ground and hoist her into my arms. Her head lolls against my shoulder, and for a brief moment—with her sweet breath caressing my flesh—the maddening rage that has been rushing through my veins calms. It’s still as though I’m on the brink of incineration, but the voice roaring in my mind to kill and destroy grows quieter.

I slowly breathe, taking in a fresh scent that I recognize as hers, and finally, the voice is gone. In its wake is want. Need. Desire. I scan Olivia’s face. Her eyelids flutter and part, widening further when her gaze meets mine.

“Janik?” she says my name in a hushed, breathy tone that hardens my cock.

Twice now I’ve held Olivia in my arms and this second time is even better than the first. Perhaps because of the way I cradle her and how soft she feels in my embrace.

Our initial meeting, when we collided in the market center and I grasped her waist to keep her from falling, was far too short of contact.

The memory of her threatening to knee me in the sac makes me want to laugh.

The softness of her body doesn’t match the hardness in her eyes.

“You son of bitch,” she spits out and flails in my arms requiring me to tighten my hold for fear of dropping her. “What did you do to Lorik?”

Newly subdued anger flares to life again at the mention of another male’s name. “Peace, female. Other than a few bruises, he’s fine.” At least I believe him to be. The minute I took off with Olivia, I sensed Ryvik’s presence directly behind me. He had left Alik’s guard breathing.

I glance back, now that we are within the safety of the rainforest, and spot Ryvik maintaining a clear distance between us with a wary tilt to his head and several bleeding cuts on his face.

I’m uncertain if his wariness is because of the female I hold or because of the rage that had taken over when I spotted Olivia walking with the guard.

She stills, and I turn my gaze downward. Her eyes are narrowed, her features hard. “I told you before—it’s not female. We have names. Now, put me down, and get me out of this damn cloak.”

Carefully, I set her on her feet and disentangle the fabric.

Olivia attempts to smooth her tangled hair, and straightens the stunning Bohnari clothing I am only just now noticing she wears.

She turns in a slow circle and takes in our surroundings, pausing briefly on Ryvik before she continues her circuit and faces me again.

“Where did you bring me? No, scratch that, why did you take me, and when are you taking me back?”

The answer to Olivia’s where question is a secret. No one outside of the rebels knows where we make our camp. As for the why? I don’t have an answer, other than instinct.

“Perhaps I’m not. Perhaps I’d rather keep you.”

Her mouth falls open. “Excuse me? You can’t just fucking keep me here like a prisoner.”

“Why not?” Baiting Olivia shouldn’t be this much fun, but it is.

She actually growls and punches her fists toward the ground.

Then she pivots and stomps toward where Ryvik remains standing, which also happens to be the direction she would need to continue heading to find herself at the city border.

He side-steps directly in front of her, and she pauses for only a moment before walking around him. Or at least she tries to.

Ryvik latches onto her arm to stop her retreat, and my vision goes dark. One moment, I’m standing in the same spot I’ve been since I set Olivia down, and the next, I’m looming over the male, now lying on the ground and groaning in pain.

“Do not touch her.” The command rumbles out of my chest, the words nearly indistinguishable.

Ryvik glances up with wide eyes, while Olivia stumbles away from me with fear etched across her face.

My rage dies a swift death and my claws and fangs retract.

I hadn’t realized they’d lengthened. The beast that resides in all Bohnari has never risen to the surface that quickly, despite our dwindling supply of kanet powder.

Except with me and with increasing frequency.

A fact my mother and I are trying to hide.

“I won’t hurt you.” My gaze bores into Olivia. I ignore Ryvik, who slowly stands and disappears within the trees leaving me alone with the female. I’ll apologize to him later. At this moment, she is my main concern.

She huffs out a harsh breath. “Sure could have fooled me. First you kidnap me, and now you’re acting like some crazed monster.”

I flinch at her description. It isn’t too far off. The mating fever inside me is only getting worse. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to maintain control before action will have to be taken. Which is why I need to take over the throne soon. If I wait much longer, it may be too late.

“For now, you’ll be my guest.”

Olivia gapes. “Your guest ? Don’t you mean prisoner?”

“Not at all.” I give her a sweeping bow. “An honored guest who will be treated as such.”

She scoffs. “Excuse me if I don’t feel as such. Do you throw every honored guest over your shoulder like a sack of grain and take them away from the safety of their own home and their friends?”

I grin. For some reason, her anger amuses me. It’s better than the fear she showed moments ago. “Only the lucky ones.”

“God, you’re infuriating. It’s no wonder Alik plans on sending his guards in here to flush you all out. Not only did you push the blame back onto him for Konek’s murder, but you’ve ignored his efforts to talk.”

This is the second time she has accused me of murdering another Bohnari. This is also the first I am hearing of the prince wanting to speak with me. “What do you mean?”

Olivia does a rolling gesture with her eyes. “Exactly what I just said. He’s been trying to arrange some kind of meeting with you to discuss your role in Konek’s death, and you’ve refused to give him an answer.”

“How is it you think you know these things?”

“My best friend is the commander’s mate. She’s heard conversations between Horek and Alik.”

Each time Olivia says that interloper’s name, a feral rage rises up inside me.

I temper the need to return to Preska and confront the false prince.

I also don’t want her to see how much her words disturb me.

Not only am I still reeling by the fact that this Konek died, but also that Alik has allegedly been trying to set up a parlay.

This is news to me. It’s not as though I think she’s lying, but she must be mistaken. She has to be.

“Maybe I’ve just been too busy to meet with him. I have a rebellion to lead, after all.”

Olivia laughs, but I don’t like the way it sounds. “Too busy to care about, or take responsibility for, the fact that you killed someone? Why am I not surprised? You strike me as an entitled jerk who doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”

She storms off into the rainforest, where any number of dangers lie.

“You’re going the wrong way.”

Olivia pauses and glances back. “If you say it’s wrong, then it must be right.”

With that, she starts off again.

“Stubborn female.” I sigh and go after her.

With my stride being far greater than hers, it doesn’t take long before I catch up.

She pointedly ignores me, not even once casting a look my way.

Her steps are loud and forceful, and every so often she pushes a dangling limb out of her way with a soft, muttered curse.

Still, I hear each one. All of them are directed at me, rather than the object in her path.

I divide my attention between Olivia and our surroundings, keeping my hand on the blaster I carry at my waist. She truly is going in the wrong direction.

“What happens when you discover I’ve been correct this entire time, and you’re far off course?”

“Then I’ll head in a different direction,” she says in a sharp tone that indicates my question is stupid.

A grin breaks out on my lips, and I chuckle before I can stop either of them. Olivia finally darts a glance at me with narrowed eyes.

“I really don’t like you.”

For a brief moment, my grin falters, but I recover quickly. “What’s not to like? I’m handsome. My horns are the perfect length and curl just right. I’m amusing. I also have a huge?—”

Olivia slams her hands over her ears and makes some bizarre noise while she shakes her head. Several beats pass before she uncovers them and glares hard at me.

“I don’t want to hear about your huge anything .” Her pace quickens and the distance between us widens.

With only a few steps, I am beside her again.

Once more, she ignores my presence. At least she pretends to do so.

Olivia slightly stumbles, rights herself, and casts a quick glance over at me, as if trying to determine if I noticed her imbalance.

I don’t offer a hand. Instead, I hum the notes of a melody I remember from my youth, although every time I try to recall who sang the song, I can’t. My mother denies it was her.

In the distance is the sound of rushing water.

It’s not the stunning waterfall I stumbled across only once.

That lies much deeper within the rainforest. Up until recently, it had been the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

I told no one of its existence, and there are days when I often think I merely dreamed it.

Then, I recall the clean, fresh scent along with the feel of the cool water hitting the palm of my hand I held beneath it.

I glance at the female beside me. What would Olivia think of the waterfall?

Would she stand at the base in awe like I had?

Would she appreciate the power and beauty of what she witnessed?

There’s an unwelcome, but yearning, need inside me to take her to see it.

To share the wonder of it with her and only her.

Stubborn female that she is, she’d hate the place just to spite me.

For the countless time, Olivia stumbles over a fallen limb and curses loudly.

A rumbling growl fills the air from a short distance away.

I yank the blaster from the holster and grab her arm to halt her movements.

She whirls on me, but swallows whatever curses she’d been about to unleash with a harsh choking sound.

Hopeful I have Olivia’s full attention, I release the loose grip I have on her and bring my finger to my lips indicating silence.

She gives a succinct nod, and there is fear in her wide eyes.

I want to tell her I’ll keep her safe, but I doubt she’ll believe me.

It’s not the time to do so either with the sound of the approaching predator.

And it’s definitely a predator. One whose growl I recognize.

The phinnek is far too close to us. To Olivia.

I glance at the nearest tree and measure the distance to the lowest branch strong enough to hold her weight.

It’s far enough off the ground to keep her out of harm’s way while I take care of the phinnek.

I gesture upward, holster my weapon, and make a stirrup for her foot with my hands.

To my surprise, she neither argues nor hesitates.

Instead, Olivia lifts the hem of the dress she wears and steps one foot into the cradle of my palms while balancing herself on my shoulder.

Even with the fabric of my shirt separating us, my body hums with awareness of her touch.

I try to ignore the flash of bare skin she unintentionally gives me, or the way my cock hardens as I imagine how soft it would be beneath my fingertips.

Another growl from nearby jolts me into movement.

I boost Olivia upward and she scrambles through the branches, going higher and higher until she must think she’s far enough off the ground to stop.

I’m impressed by her quickness as well as the ease with which she climbed.

I’ll have to tell her when she returns to the ground.

Which means I have to take care of the phinnek that creeps out from behind another nearby tree.

The gasp from far above me is loud, but I don’t glance up.

My focus remains on the beast prowling toward me.