Page 24 of Gravel and Grit

Mira cleared her throat, loudly. Glancing up, he found her sitting stiffly

and staring pointedly at where his hand was hovering over the beacon.

“Yes?” he drawled.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing with that? Because I do. I’ve spent the last two years working on that device. If you need help, I happen to be sitting here, with nothing more to do than worry about when a hit squad is going to burst through the door and kill us. Also, you’re about to nick the main power wire with your claws,” she anxiously pointed out, still staring at his hand as if she was ready to spring into action to stop him if he so much as twitched.

Zaek jerked his hand back quickly and glared down at the beacon, irritated it hadn’t given him some sign that he was about to make a potentially irreparable mistake.

“Main power wire, you say? Now that you mention it, I could use some assistance.”

“Good. Great,” she sighed with relief. “You should, uh, probably not touch it anymore.”

Zaek blinked at her then threw his head back and laughed, the deep, gravelly sound filling the old cabin. He had not been spoken to with such disregard of his position by any other than Roc since he was a cadet, and never by a human.

Still grinning, he gazed at her with admiration, loving her bravery.

“I like you, Fluffy Bunny,” he said, chuckling lowly.

“Oh! Well, thank you,” she replied. She appeared surprised, but pleased at his statement, and returned his smile with a shy one of her own. “I like you, to— wait. Fluffywhat?”

“Uh. You know, now that you are awake we should leave. I need to…

acquiresupplies for us, as well as anything you might need to work on the beacon, and we need to put more distance between us and the men with very enthusiastic trigger fingers.”

Mira looked like she wanted to question him further about the nickname he’d bestowed upon her, but his emphasis onacquirethankfully redirected her attention.

“Acquire?” she repeated with a heavy dose of suspicion and disapproval.

He felt his lips twitch, but held back his chuckle. She looked so appalled at his less-than-subtle hint that he would be stealing anything they needed. He gave her a challenging look in reply.

“Do you think they would welcome my patronage?” he asked, gesturing

to himself to point out his obvious alienness.

When she opened her mouth to argue further, he assumed, he leaned toward her and cut her off. He gazed at her very seriously, all traces of amusement gone and, unable to help himself, reached out to brush the curls draped over her shoulder with the tips of his fingers.

He swallowed hard and rasped,“I promised to protect you, Mira. That also means keeping you well fed and cared for. I cannot do that without basic supplies. Besides, I always leave money on the counter to cover anything I take.”

He thought he heard her breath hitch and could have sworn her gaze dropped to his lips. The temptation to lean a little closer and bury his face in those enticingly fluffy curls was so strong he had to lean as far back as the couch allowed and curl his claws into his palms to stop himself.

Shouldnothave touched her hair.Lar’s wings. It should be illegal tohave hair that soft.

Fuck. Now my dick is hard again.

Needing a distraction, he bent to retrieve his nearly empty supply bag from under the couch, then gritted his teeth to hold back a yelp when the movement bent his cock in his suit. Standing up quickly to relieve the pressure, he pivoted to face her.

“You should make use of the facilities before we leave, if you have need,” he suggested, wanting her, her fucking delicious smell, and her fluffy black cloud hair out of the room just long enough for his erection to calm down so she wasn’t bumping against it when he carried her.

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MIRA

Mira retreated into the single, empty bedroom the cabin sported and shut the door behind her.

“If you have need,” she mimicked Zaek’s deep voice, closing the master bathroom door, as well, then muttered under her breath as she made use of the facilities, “I have a damn need all right. A damned inappropriate need for a giant alien gargoyle with an unreasonably sexy laugh.”

As soon as she said that, a thud vibrated the walls and made her jump. A low, masculine groan followed.

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