Page 15 of Warrior Enchanted

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 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, the rough black stubble that gave him a rakish, pirate-like appearance right now. 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 didn’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 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 if’s, though I was very good at that, thinking of the might be’s was once my favorite pastime. She was here, 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, the 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 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 were in. 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 to look out over the forest. My hope was that the land didn’t curve too much to hide the spaceport and city.

Now I just had to get us across this 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 around when we changed our trajectory. “Oh no, you can’t be serious. I know you are all Tarzan, but this is crazy!” I had no clue who or what this Tarzan was, and I didn’t want her to compare 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 ripping from her throat, followed by some very imaginative swearing. 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.

Chapter 11

Meena

It was a steep, difficult climb even for Jakar to reach the higher parts of the giant tree. A fine sheen of sweat coated his shiny red skin, making it sparkle prettily in the Rakex sunlight. Despite the sweat, he still smelled good too, which seemed insanely unfair to human males. Or maybe I was just especially attracted to all things Jakar. Who knew? I was starting to think that might be the case.

I didn’t feel nearly as bothered by the heights we were climbing at either; my faith in his skills was pretty huge at this point. The guy seemed to be loving what he was doing, not in the least fatigued yet. He’d explained to me how his lower set of hands actually gripped when they were relaxed, the opposite of what human hands did. That meant it cost him no energy at all when he was hanging from that set of hands, allowing him to rest his muscles. Very clever design if you asked me.

The branches higher up were wide enough that even Jakar needed two steps to cross them, and he finally stopped on one such branch, letting me down to stand next to him. I was a little shaky since my muscles were definitely fatigued from clinging to him like a baby monkey. Of course, the gentleman that he was, he kept one arm around me, making sure I was steady and couldn’t fatally plunge off the edge.

“There, I’m pretty sure that’s Rakex City. Do you see it?” he asked, pointing eagerly at the horizon. Vaguely, I thought I could tell what he was pointing at, a shimmer of something white far in the distance. If it was a city, I couldn’t say, but it was the only thing of interest in any direction. This tree we were in was probably the only recognizable landmark for miles and miles. I didn’t see anything noteworthy sticking out of the green carpet that covered this planet as far as the eye could see.

“Yeah, I guess that’s our best bet. It looks so far away…” I hadn’t seen any vehicle with my kidnappers. Had they carried me on foot all the way from there? Somehow I doubted that; they hadn’t seemed like the type. Jakar, yes, he had definitely traveled that far on foot; probably climbing through the trees the entire way. I was getting exhausted just thinking about how long it would take to walk back to the city from here.

Jakar’s body brushed against my side, his arm around my waist pressing me a little closer. Another arm settled around my shoulders, reminding me that this guy had four of them. I honestly kind of liked how enveloped I was standing at his side like this, and he still had a hand free to gesture out over the landscape as he talked.