Page 27 of Claimed By the Alien Barbarian

“I’m someone who believes in fairness, and they’ve done awful things.”

“They have.” He lifted me and urged me to wrap my legs around his torso and my arms around his shoulders. “You’ll need to hold tight.”

Pressing my face into his chest, I nodded.

One leap, and he’d grabbed onto the lowest branch of the tree, though it had to be at least ten feet up. With everything this male did for me, he showed me how much stronger he was, how easily he fit into this environment. Survival of the fittest and all that. While I was grateful to my mother for teaching me the skills that had helped me live long enough for Nevarn to find me, I wished I was a foot taller, that I had larger muscle mass. I wasn’t puny as far as Earth women went, but my physical deficiencies were becoming more obvious the longer I remained on this planet.

He continued jumping, taking us up into the canopy, where he settled on a branch so wide, our legs wouldn’t fit around it. Sitting with his back to the trunk, he placed me on his lap with my legs still wrapped around him.

“Sleep,” he said, tucking the blanket he’d somehow drawn from inside the tree around me. “I’ll keep you warm and safe.”

A few light taps overhead were followed by splatters on my face.

“It’s raining.” I huddled beneath the blanket.

He pointed. “Watch.”

Tipping my head back, I stared in amazement as branches shifted overhead, moving closer together until a thick cluster of leaves created an umbrella to keep us dry.

“How is any of this possible?” I asked, too tired to process it all. Everything had caught up to me and like an incoming tsunami, it was going to knock me over.

He shrugged. “Many would say this is a gift from the gods and leave it at that.”

“What do you say?”

“That I’m thankful for however these gifts are given to me, that I don’t take any of them for granted.”

“You’re an old soul.” I studied his face that was difficult to see in the darkness.

His head tilted, and I could tell he was thinking about what my words might mean. “I believe you’re right,” he finally said. “I think you also have an old soul. We’ve both experienced things in life that have changed us for the better. I’m not saying this change didn’t leave scars or that our souls remained untouched. Bad things have happened to us, but instead of wallowing in the pain, we mourned and moved forward. By doing so, we created something new and often, better.”

“You’re right. I lost my mother much too young, and I still miss her. But I’ve taken all she taught me and used it to make my life better. Although,” she said wryly, “I wish I’d paid a bit more attention to everything she tried to teach me.”

“Most younglings feel they know everything already, that there’s nothing their elders can share that they’d want to take on as their own.”

“I wish I’d had more time with her.”

He tapped my chest. “She’s still with you in your heart.”

“You’re right. I have my memories of her and the feel of her hand on my forehead, her touch on my shoulder. She loved me and she showed me all the time.” If only she’d chosen a different career, but she’d always been someone who had deep feelings for others. A regular old nine-to-five job would never have given herthe chance she needed to make a difference. I could see that now with the clarity gifted to me by time.

Yawning, I snuggled against him. He smelled amazing, like the crisp air around us mixed in with a light grassy scent I found addictive.

His arms went around me, holding me tight enough to keep me from falling but lightly enough I could pull back if it felt like too much.

My eyes slid closed, and the rain lulled me to . . .

I woke in his arms, with sunlight warming my spine, and looked up. He stared down at me, and for one moment, his gaze was unguarded.

He craved me. Not just physically, but emotionally.

I could barely breathe.

What would it be like to be with someone who saw me as his whole world, not someone he left to complete a job, then came back to when they had time? I’d never begrudged my mom for working, but the long stretches without her had gnawed away at my emotions until I put a block between us. Only then could I deal with her being my all for a short time and then my nothing.

He leaned closer, stopping before we touched, and I drank in the warmth in his eyes.

He longed for me, and I felt the same. I craved what I suspected only this guy could give me. He wouldn’t just bring joy to my life but peace and contentment.

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