Page 50 of Treasured By the Hunter

Mo and Kat questioned them as they ate. When I first met this group’s unofficial leader and his wife, I thought them a strange couple. Mo was of Middle Eastern descent and had a perfectly trimmed goatee and short hair. He currently wore a Metallica T-shirt with his cargo pants and combat boots.

His wife, Katarina, looked like a Russian spy right out of an action movie. Her accent didn’t help. They seemed an odd choice to lead a group in this part of America, all things considered, but everyone respected them.

A man named Curtis, whose blond hair was graying at the temples, explained with a noticeable drawl that while they’d done a lot of damage to the nest, the nest was also fighting back.

“That nest is getting mighty desperate. It’s spittin’ out all sorts of weird mutants. Keeping us on our toes.”

“Any we should be watching out for?” Katarina asked.

“Yeah. A red and black flying one.” Curtis reached for one of the cookies and took a bite. “Hey! There’s bacon in this.” He stuffed the rest of the cookie in his mouth and grabbed another. “It’s good.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I made two types. The ones with the piece of food bar at the top are more meat-heavy with chunks of food bars in them, too. They weren’t to my tastes, but Haax’l was my taste-tester, and he loved them.”

“You made them? I’d marry you right here, but Harb’k would probably not appreciate it.”

“Neither would Bessie,” Sam said, grinning.

The table broke out in laughter.

“Bessie was his best dairy cow,” Harb’k murmured from beside me.

I chuckled. Warmth filled my chest as I looked around the table. Had I found a new group?

They passed the tray of cookies around, and Harb’k took two of the extra meaty ones, wolfing them down with an appreciative grunt. “Very good. I understand dessert now.”

Both varieties of Zoey’s Meat Cookies—I did not name them, it just happened—were a hit. Especially the Xarc’n versions. Many Xarc’n hunters were not partial to dessert, but this they enjoyed, probably because there was only a hint of sweetness to them.

It wasn’t until we were walking back to his shuttle that I noticed Harb’k’s limp.

“Your leg!” The side of his calf was raw and peeling.

“It’s nothing. Just a small burn.”

“That’s not small.”

“And it is already healing.” He cupped my face in his palms. “Do not worry. This is a small injury, and I have already decontaminated it. If it makes you happier, you can hold the medical device over it for me. The mated hunters tell me that it feels good to be cared for when they are wounded.”

“I can do that.”

We got back to his shuttle, and he taught me how to use the healing device so I could care for his leg. He dozed off as the device was working, and I watched his features in repose. How had I thought Xarc’n features terrifying? With his eyes closed and his face relaxed, he almost had a boyish charm.

I smoothed the piece of hair off his forehead that had fallen out of the leather ties. And as I did, I realized I was falling for him. And I was falling hard.

The device beeped, jolting me out of my thoughts. I crawled over to look at his calf. The skin was already growing back, and I would never have guessed that he’d gotten the burn just today.

“Wow! That’s remarkable.”

Sure, my cuts and scrapes healed quickly too, but I hadn’t needed to grow back that much skin. And it wasn’t this fast.

While I was inspecting his healing leg, Harb’k was busy inspecting my ass, which was right in front of his face. He grabbed it and gave it a possessive squeeze.

“I have fought the scourge. Now, I will pleasure my female.”

“No.” I didn’t want him to undo all the healing he’d done. “Let me do all the work. You’ve done enough today.”

I pushed him back to lean against the sleeping nook and crawled between his legs. My hands made quick work of the loincloth fastening, and I tossed it over the pilot’s chair. His hard, rigid length bobbed in my hands. I gave it a squeeze before quickly stripping off my clothes too. His golden eyes were stuck on me, drinking me in like I was the only girl on Earth. It was such a turn-on to have a virile warrior under my control. I reached down to touch myself. I was already so wet and slick for him.

He grabbed my hand, brought the digit to his mouth, and suckled it.

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