Page 20 of Guardian's Heart

I pulled my pants up and looked around to find something to clean her up with. My eyes fell on a leaf that was shaped like a bowl. It would be easy to fill with water from the stream.

She had retaken her spot on the branch, holding on to it, and I couldn't get enough of staring at her swollen lips and the red patches on her cheeks. She hadn't covered herself up yet; her breasts still stood free and proud, and her legs were open, giving me a glimpse of her glistening sex.

I didn't think she was even aware of the alluring sight she made. Her expression was still far away and dreamy, and every now and then, a small shudder moved through her, followed by a low moan.

Her sex was still sensitive, and I wished I could have heated the water for her, but it would have to do.

I picked up the forgotten cloak and tore a piece off with my teeth to use as a washcloth. She moaned deeper as I began wiping her clean of the mess of our combined juices. My thumb brushed against the still-swollen nub by the entrance of her pussy, a very sensitive spot, as I had learned. Most females in the universe had one, and it was always interesting to find it because, depending on the species, it was always hidden somewhere else. I kept moving my thumb and watched as her knuckles turned white from holding on to the branch with all her might.

She was already so primed that it didn't take long for her to come again, and when she did, I memorized every line of her face, every low moan and hiss. The way her eyes clouded and her mouth slightly parted. It took a lot of willpower not to crush mylips to hers, but the need to watch her in the throes of her orgasm won out.

"No more," she pleaded when her body stopped spasming, and I moved the cloth to cleanse her once more. She shook her head, took the material from me, and finished doing it herself.

She bent over, giving me a glimpse of her rounded ass to pick up the cloak, hiding her form behind it. That didn’t stop my already hard cock from twitching.

"Now what?" She wanted to know.

"I'll take you back to the others and then all of you to Astrionis." I reiterated the original plan, aware of the slight tearing pain in my heart. I didn't think I could let her go. Not now, not ever.

That was a place I wouldn't allow my thoughts to go to just yet. Whatever was happening between us was new and strange, and I would have to take it one day at a time.

"Alright," she agreed, settling down on a small rock and it was only now that I noticed the leaves she had tied to her feet. No clothes, no shoes.

This female was the most amazing person I had ever met.

"Allow me." I kneeled, inspecting her feet, finding bruises and a few cuts.

"It doesn't hurt," she assured me, her face close enough to kiss her lips.

I grunted in response because I didn't know what to say. Too many words hovered in my mind, but I didn't allow any of them to pass my tongue. She already had too much power over me, and I didn't even understand why.

From my pants pocket, I retrieved the fur of the two creatures that had made my dinner for the past two nights. Had I really spent two nights in this gods-forsaken forest? I sighed.

"Oh," was all she said when I held the first fur out, measuring it against her foot. A few drops of dried blood still clung to it, but Nova proved herself unsqueamish.

I didn't have any glue or even a needle to fashion a better pair of boots for her, and mine were decidedly too big; they would give her more blisters than protect her feet. With a sigh, I had to resort to the same crude method she had used, but at least the pelt was large enough to wrap her entire foot and tie off at her ankle.

I creased my forehead. Why had I taken the pelts? Yes, I was a hunter, but I was a hunter of much larger prey, prey that usually hung out in more or less civilized places. Never before in my life had I hunted for food. So why then and how had I so expertly carved the luckless creature, and why had I kept their hides? And why did everything around here look and feel so familiar?

"What's wrong?" Nova's pointer finger danced across my creased forehead.

"Nothing," I retorted more brusquely than I had intended, but a throbbing headache was growing in my brain. I shook my head to stop this line of thinking, and my head cleared. Frygg. I had no idea what that was. None. But I knew I didn't want to think about hunting or fur any longer.

I fixed her other foot up in a similar way, and when her stomach growled loudly, we both exchanged an amused look.

"I have some nuts." She pointed at a gnarly root tree.

“I can do better,” I promised, rising. “I’ll be right back.”

NOVA

I watched him vanishbetween the bushes and leaned back against the tree to digest everything that had just happened. I stared at the intricately woven lines on my arm, and yes, when I moved the cloak to the side, my hips and side were tattooed as well. They weren’t raised or sore. After the initial pain—which had been bad—they were just part of me now, like a tattoo. And as far as tattoos went, it could have been worse. They reminded me of those tribal marks that had been all the rage before shit hit the fan. I might have even chosen something similar myself.

Still, the way they were sensitive tohistouch was unnerving. That and the fact that we both had suddenly matching lines on our bodies. That part did freak me out some. With that, my thoughts returned tohim. I sighed. It wasn’t my first time wrangling in the sheets with a stranger, but Zaarek wasn’t just a stranger, was he? He was an alien, first off. Secondly, he bought me at an auction.Bought me! And if that wasn’t enough, he had stalked me through a forest. Alright, so he promised to take me to safety, whatever that meant, but could I trust him?

A little late to ask, isn't it? Missy's snarky voice popped into my head.

Probably, I admitted.

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