Page 22

“You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?

” he said as the forest began to close around us once again.

We had quite a following by now, many males from town, and many young Naga too.

I couldn’t tell if any of the young were female; their faces were too foreign for me to decipher.

There was no obvious tell, like the length of their hair, either—even the adult males all had long hair.

I nodded at Reshar, something uneasy passing in my belly, and beneath my coat, I palmed the soft curve. They didn’t know I was pregnant, the coat hid the evidence. Artek needed to explain more, and I was full of questions again.

“Are there more of you? Unmated humans? We heard they were all taken now…” Reshar asked.

It made Artek hiss, but for the first time, I thought I saw something very honest in the azure male’s demeanor.

That’s why he was so curious, because he wanted what Artek had, what the others at Haven had discovered.

The clash of combat still resounded from the town, and the obvious absence of any females made me wonder.

I shrugged a shoulder, uncertain how to answer that question. The Haven humans were all taken, but the ship that had crashed—the one from which I’d come—had humans. I’d seen them. But to tell this male about that was possibly to send him to his death, his spear no match for a Krektar’s laser rifle.

“All humans at Haven have a mate,” Artek said—as if he couldn’t utter a lie but didn’t want to tell this Reshar the truth, either.

I knew it was a mistake, those words, because the male’s golden eyes narrowed, and a smirk tilted his mouth.

He dipped his head, nodding first at Artek and then at me in parting.

A sharp whistle burst from his mouth, and it seemed to be an order, as all the blue Thunder Rock Naga that had been following him began to melt away.

Turning back without protest, even the young ones obeyed without a sound.

This Reshar, he had far more power than I thought was possible, given their matriarchal society.

I wondered if Khawla knew what a rival he had in the male, if he saw the ambition.

Then I put it aside; this was not a viddrama or a romance novel—these were real lives, and they had nothing to do with me.

Artek would take me home, and then it was time for me to discover if I wanted to stay with him or go to Haven. That was it. I had no other options.

No, that wasn’t true. There was the wreck, and the humans there who needed help.

My eyes went to the tablet I was cradling, and I thumbed it on, focusing on the data we’d managed to retrieve.

Sensor data would be able to tell me the story of how they’d crashed, and maybe even the path they’d flown to get here.

No one on this planet was more qualified than I to decipher that.

Artek said nothing as he moved at my side, the sled going far faster than it had yesterday or this morning.

The motions were subtle, but I was getting faintly nauseous from reading while traveling.

“This indicates a cargo of thousands of stasis pods, Artek,” I said, “And this data only includes the cargo that entered through that hatch. The Long Hauler has multiple holds. We’re talking about a lot of stasis pods.

” I twisted in my seat and glanced back over my shoulder.

“We should meet up with your friend and figure out how to save them. They can’t stay with the Krektar. ”

“We are not going to the wreck. This was enough adventure,” Artek said firmly.

He was holding the laser pistol in his hand as if he were expecting trouble at any moment.

His gaze was sharp as he searched the woods while we moved.

I admired the way the violet Serant sun streaked his pearly white scales with shimmers of silver, blue, pink, and even gold.

I had not been blind to how handsome Reshar was, or how competent and handsome Khawla had appeared, both males with power in their circle. But Artek, he was truly beautiful.

My breathing hitched slightly as I saw the smile curling at the corner of his mouth, his silver and gold hair draped around his broad shoulders.

He was mysterious—a male with knowledge that matched mine—someone who challenged my curiosity at every turn.

Then there was the potent rawness of his desire, which never allowed me to question whether he was into me.

I was beginning to think that Artek hadn’t practiced that side of himself much, and I loved how it sometimes took control of him.

He must have seen the admiration, because that small smile grew, a twinkle dancing in the golden depths of his eyes.

The tip of his tail rose between us, gently sliding a lock of hair behind my ear.

The warm brush of scales against my skin made me shiver, and I realized how very easy it was to like my Shaman.

When the tail slid around my neck, urging me to lean forward, I went willingly.

Artek tilted his face to mine, and our mouths brushed together.

The warm slide of his lips against mine, the mixing of our breaths, and the cold winter air in contrast.

I sighed in pleasure and let my eyes drift shut.

How far had we traveled from the village?

Not far, but certainly farther than if I had walked.

It was silly, but I still felt the burn of curious eyes on the back of my neck.

Twining my fingers in Artek’s silky hair, I wondered if I should ask him about that, only, I didn’t want to end this kiss.

It felt too nice to have someone at my side who saw me as his partner, his equal.

At Thunder Rock, he could have refused to translate and turned back home.

There would have been very little I could do, but instead, he’d let me do as I’d wanted, and visit that wreckage.

Now he was refusing, of course, but it was equally sexy to know how much he cared about my safety.

As for visiting the wreck, at least I knew I had other options.

Like speaking to that other Shaman who was there.

We had a way to get information, and I guess that was going to have to be enough for now.

So I focused on the male I was with, committing every taste and sensation to memory as if my life depended on it.

savored the twist of his split tongue around mine as we tangled, relishing each sweet groan and rough exhale.

I hoped he was right, that we could make it home before nightfall, because I was pretty ready to jump his bones right here, right now.

Except it was a little too cold to be stripping out of my clothing.

The groan and creak of metal made me flutter my eyes open, confused by what I was hearing.

Artek did not like it when I pulled away, a hiss escaped him, and the curl of his tail around my neck grew firm, as if to hold me in place.

His eyes glowed brightly, casting gold against his sharp cheeks and long black lashes.

His tongue flicked out between us, brushing along my lips, and I shook as pleasure skated down my spine.

Ah, fuck, who cared about a little frostbite anyway?

My guy was a healer, he’d patch me back up if I got hurt.

I was so ready to jump his bones, and I didn’t care if that was reckless.

It wasn’t like I could get pregnant again, and besides, if there was one thing I knew, it was that Artek wanted to keep me safe.

Leaning back in, I caught his mouth again, my fingers tightening in his hair and pulling.

I wanted him to climb onto the sled with me, into the furs, and cover me with his warmth, his body.

I still remembered what it had felt like to be pinned beneath him, to touch his scales as he pleasured me. More. I wanted more.

He jerked back so abruptly that I was left blinking and holding a few too many strands of his hair, but nothing else.

Head spinning, pulse pounding, I struggled to figure out what was going on.

The whine of a laser as it shot through the air, the crash and splintering of wood somewhere above my head, in the canopy.

Birds cawed as they scattered into the sky, all jewel tones and startling contrast against the pale lavender.

I rolled myself to the side, peering cautiously over the raised metal edge of the sled. Artek had moved back, his laser pistol raised, eyes alert, and every line of his sinuous body tight with tension. The edge of the sled had been twisted, the metal warped into a shape curiously close to hands.

I was prepared for it, and still, it caught me by surprise when a laser whipped through the air again.

A red streak coming from the woods and splintering the bark of a tree right behind Artek’s shoulder.

He ducked, rolled, and came back up, pistol raised and firing.

The weapon kicked back with each shot, but my Shaman ruthlessly controlled it.

When he fired back, I heard it strike true, a scream of pain echoing through the air, rough, guttural. The Krektar.

Despite Artek’s precisely aimed shots, they came barreling out of the trees, and Artek was forced to take cover.

He lunged, grabbing the edge of the sled, and it tipped over.

I tumbled out, tangled in furs, landing roughly in a circle of my Shaman’s coiled tail.

The sled became our cover, laser fire striking its bottom, metal melting and sizzling from the impact.

I had a brief moment to right myself, get my feet beneath me, and then I saw one of our attackers round the sled without an ounce of self-preservation.

He was as ugly in the flesh as his kind had looked on the screen: warts, tusks, thick, bushy hair, and pink skin sickly with a greenish hue.

He also stank, like rotting flesh, unwashed body, and sweat.