Page 40 of Alien Haven

“Why? We’re barely acquainted.” The words mocked her. She was protective of him too.

“I told you,” he said after a lengthy, uncertain pause. “I’m a Nobek. Violence is what my breed does.”

“You were violent when the tantrums of a toddler arrived. Earthers call it the ‘terrible twos,’ though it can go on for longer.Our children strike out as well. Then you were violent when you were an adolescent, cooking in hormones. From what I’ve heard, it isn’t uncommon for teen Nobeks to majorly lose their shit on a regular basis.”

“Which proves my point. We’re only beasts.”

“You know what? It can happen to Earther teens too. Even if they don’t get physical, they aren’t recognized for making good decisions during adolescence.”

“My breed is infamous for getting physical.”

She refused to give up. “Doesn’t the danger of losing control fade as Nobeks get older? Don’t the majority graduate from the training camps around eighteen, nineteen years old?”

“In any case, few of us put our trainers in the hospital.”

“Sounds to me as if your trainer failed to keep his wits about him, especially considering you were coming out of a training battle where your control had already been tested. If anyone was to blame, it was him.”

“You can’t excuse what I did. What I’m still capable of.” He straightened and looked away.

She kept going, as if he hadn’t spoken. “As for what you might have done today…well, I hope you care enough to defend a frightened woman who runs to you for help. A man should be enraged to see someone weaker victimized. I’d like it even more if you’d cared because it wasmewho’d been terrorized.”

Silence. She let the quiet stretch, so he could consider what she’d said.

At last, he spoke. “I couldn’t see straight when you were standing there, shaking like a leaf and staring at me as if I were your only shelter. All I could think was the bastard had to pay for assaulting you.”

“Do you hear me arguing you shouldn’t have? I’d have loved for you to teach him a well-earned lesson.”

“I refuse to consider violence as the only means of correcting problems. Despite how I acted today, I won’t be reduced to it.” Tension thrummed through his frame.

“Oh no, you aren’t a big meathead who pounds people first and asks questions later? How awfully enlightened of you. It’s scandalous.” She smirked.

“I’m also not the kind of man anyone expects a Nobek to be.”

“Then be the Nobek you want to be, even if it means rewriting the book on warrior mentality. Why do you believe I wouldn’t think it’s okay? Give me a little credit, Detodev. Even if I thought less of you, why would you care? Do I pay your bills? Is my opinion worth more than yours when it comes to how you live your life? Is anyone’s?”

His attention turned toward her. She saw the glint of his eyes in the starlight as he gazed at her, perhaps weighing whether she meant it.

“I wish I knew what to make of you,” he muttered.

On sudden impulse, she said, “Figure this out for starters.”

She closed the distance and rose on her toes, grateful she wasn’t as short as her sister. Wrapping her arms around his thick neck, she pressed her lips to his.

His hands pressed the small of her back, drawing her close before he froze. She clung, moving against him, willing a man’s instinct to enjoy a woman throwing herself at him to kick in…as his Nobek instinct for protectiveness had earlier in the day.

To bring home her intentions, her mouth parted and her tongue slid between his lips. Uttering a groan, he opened to taste.

Sizzling excitement coursed through Charity as their tongues met and twined. She writhed, letting him feel her softness pressing his iron frame, keening in blatant need. The kiss grew hotter, hungrier. When at last it ended, they gasped as if they’d run miles.

“I’m not the man you want,” he panted. “I can’t be.”

“Detodev, I don’t have a habit of kissing men who don’t interest me,” she said. “So why don’t we mosey to the old barn over there and create some better memories of it? At that distance from the house, we won’t scare the Amgars, the kids, and the chickens. Trust me, you don’t want me getting crazy aroused in the backyard. I’m noisy when it comes to sex.”

“Fuck,” he hissed. “You’re sure?”

“I’m many things, my friend. A tease isn’t one of them.” She used her grip on his neck to pull him toward the barn. “This invitation is set in stone, big man. I take refusals personally.”

He allowed her to tug him a couple of slow steps. “I’m on guard duty. I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on things.”

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