Page 43 of Rebel Fates

20

SCENTS

GEMMA

Zeek is so sweet.

Relief washes over me with his proclamation to take me home. The moment Zeek walks out of the door, I stand up and wander around Serrat’s room, resisting the urge to snoop through his drawers, at least for now. Zeek will probably catch me if I do. Apparently, I will have an entire week to succumb and ease my boredom by rifling through his things.

As I study an abstract painting on the wall, I hear someone approach. I assume it’s Zeek, dropping off a load of supplies, so I don’t turn around. When I don’t hear a box land on the floor, I look to see who it is.

Serrat smirks at me and then at the open doorway. “It appears that my miscalculation was locking the doors to keep you in. You seem to stay put when the door is wide open.”

“I guess the slavers have put me off cages.”

He winces at my comment.

I add, “And almost dying… twice.”

He steps closer, and he lifts his huge hand as if he means to touch me. For all their talk of not touching, they can’t seem to stop, and I don’t think I want them to. He skims my cheek with his fingertips and sadly says, “I didn’t mean to cage you.”

“Sure…. Just keeping mesafe,” I huff. I cross my arms, and then drop them when I realize the borrowed shirt rode up when I did that.

Serrat’s eyes automatically dropped to my crotch with the movement.

I gulp as his eyes dilate and his nostrils flare.

I pull at the shirt’s hem. “Why do you care what happens to me at all?” I ask with sincerity. I don’t know why they want me safe. No one in my past has ever given a flying fuck. “I’m just some stowaway.”

“You are a female.”

“And?”

“My species protects females. Cherishes them. Worships them.” Grief bleeds through into his voice. “I do not want to fail again.”

Again? It doesn’t sound like he’s talking about my misadventures on his ship. “What happened?” I ask, low and soft. My heart aches for him. Why do I care so much?

“Our planet was attacked,” Serrat says through sharp, clenched teeth. “They murdered our leaders and our mates. Our people were all but wiped out.”

“You had a mate?” I’m afraid to ask this. It might set him off, but I feel compelled to know. What would having a mate be like? The word resonates differently in my being, as if it’s more than just a spouse. Like it’s truly a binding commitment, and not the throw away relationship that a marriage often becomes on Earth.

He nods slowly. “Rok lost his entire pack and mate. I lost mine as well.”

“Oh.” My eyes well up with tears, imagining his pain. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you—”

“I know you didn’t intend to cause problems or stir up my past.” Serrat frowns. “But intentions don’t matter. You didn’t ask to be abducted. And you sure as frex didn’t realize the severity of boarding our ship. You landed in the middle of us, but it’s dangerous to be around us right now.” His fists tighten at his side. His strong sweetgrass scent fills the room. “But I’m not sure if avoidance is possible anymore.” His gaze bores right through me and down to ignite my core.

I take a step toward him without knowing why. “What do you mean?” I breathe out in a whisper. My body is reacting with a mind of its own, wanting me to press against him. I want to pull down the low-slung kilt, or flip it up and…

Whoa, I tell myself.Slow the fuck down.

He closes the small distance between us. Breathing deeply, he hovers over me. I feel very much like prey now, caught in his clutches. Why is it that I want that?

I tilt my head back to read his intense expression.

“Gemma…” he whispers. It sounds like all his hopes and fears are squeezed into my name.

I’ve never been this worked-up in my life. These males trigger something latent inside me. My skin heats again. The temperature of the room must have shifted. I don’t know if I want to clench my thighs together or let them fall open.

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