Page 87 of Sohut's Protection

Finally, he pulled something from his bag. It looked like a carpenter’s measuring tape with a cord coming from inside it.

Sohut pressed the cord onto one section of the branch and somehow it attached to the wood.

Making a wide circle over the crisscrossing branches, he stopped when the cord completed the revolution.

Then, he pressed the center of the device.

Right in front of her eyes, the device began moving across the outline of the circle, creating a pattern like a spider’s web. It was absolutely fascinating to see and she couldn’t take her eyes off it till it stopped working.

As Sohut grabbed the device, he smiled at her.

“You’ve never seen something like this before, have you?”

Cleo shook her head.

“We don’t have anything like that on Earth.”

Sohut studied her a bit before he set the device back into his satchel and stretched out over the “web”. The web hardly reacted to his weight.

“Come. Lie with me.” His eyes were on hers and they moved to her lips so slowly, she felt a slight shiver.

Sohut watched the movement of her tongue as she licked her lips and climbed hesitantly onto the web.

It felt like very strong yarn and she tested it for a few moments before putting her whole body weight on it.

Sitting beside him, she put her pack of things near her feet and looked up into the leaves above.

She could feel his eyes on her. It was a feeling like silk moving over her skin.

“Tell me about your planet. I didn’t get to ask Larn about it.”

“Larn?” She turned to face him.

Sohut blinked.

“There is another of your species at the Sanctuary.”

The news sent a shock through her.

“What?”

“I met her before I came on the mission to find you. She is staying with my brother.”

She’d always known, deep down, that there was no chance she was alone…but to hear it as a fact…

“Are you sure?”

Sohut nodded, studying her. “Does this make you…happy?”

Cleo blinked. “Yes…and no. I wouldn’t wish this experience on another human. It wasn’t nice being…taken.”

Sohut studied her some more and his arms surrounded her, pulling her against his chest.

Cleo settled against him.

“Did you leave family there?”

“No.” She shook her head, tears welling into her eyes. “I’d only had my father. He died a few years ago. I was an only child and my mother…I never met her.”

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