Page 14 of Guardian's Heart

When I laid my head down on one of the many roots and wiggled around to dislodge a small rock poking into my side, I stared at the night sky. Trillions of twinkling stars seemed to make fun of me. Laugh at me. One of the three moons rose; its subdued greenish light illuminated the forest somewhat and dimmed the stars.

"You know where she is, don't you?" I accused it.

Was she looking at it right now, too? For all I knew, she could be only a few paces from me, or already up all the way in the mountains. I hated to admit it, but I would have to give up on this if I didn't find a trace of her in the morning. Damn her.

For some unfathomable reason, not finding her bothered my pride less than my mind. Black hair and the bluest eyes I had ever seen appeared in front of my view. Giving up was not in my nature, but this was more than that. I felt a deep magnetic pull toward her.

The fire crackled, and with a jolt, an idea hit me. As impossible as it should be, I couldn't overlook this possibility.

I climbed the nearest tree. Turning my head, I surveyed the forest in a full circle. There! My heart hammered harder in my chest.Damn that female.

A chuckle escaped me as she had managed to impress me once again. I had no idea how, but she made a fire—a beacon leading me right to her.

"You're mine now." I chuckled softly, climbing down and killing my fire. With my prey so near, energy surged through me.

I should have been more cautious. I really should have, but the thrill of being so close to her excited me. I could already picture the expression on her face when I emerged from the shadows. Maybe she’d take off running again. That thought exhilarated me and sent a rush through my veins. The idea of chasing her through the forest was intoxicating.

So much so that my cock hardened. Especially when I remembered that underneath my cape, she was naked and, if memory served, well-formed. I wouldn't mind a quick romp with her in the woods. It had been a while since I sought the pleasure of a female's body. Too long. Unfortunately, judging by her running from me, I doubted she would be a willing partner, and that was a line I would never cross.

With those thoughts running through my mind I was amazed that I still had the whereabouts to locate her tracks again. Unfortunately, the find made me too giddy to even consider her laying a trap for me.

One moment, I was walking, filled with glee; the next, my foot was pulled out from under me, and I was hanging upside down from a tree.

"What the frygg?"

My ankle hurt where it had been roped, supporting my full weight, several paces off the ground. Too high to simply cut the rope. I would land head-first on the ground or impale myself with my knife. No, thank you.

Had she done this?

No, that couldn't be.

That thought sobered me even more.

If it hadn't been her, that meant someone else was out here. Someone intelligent enough to lay a trap. Maybe even the same someone whose fire I had seen. Yes, that had to be it. I would have slapped my forehead for having assumed it was her and not someone else. That made a lot more sense now to me.

It was painful, folding myself in half and twisting my free leg around the one I was hanging from, but I managed. I was angry enough at myself to take the pain as punishment. Using my caught leg for leverage, I pulled myself up high enough to wrap my fingers around the rope. From there, it was easier to make it up the twine and onto the very branch it was tied up to. I unsheathed my knife and was about to cut through the rope. My head filled with all kinds of possible scenarios when I froze at the sound of footsteps.

I held still, tilting my head to listen.

A pale arm pushed bushes aside. No, that couldn't be.

But it was.

It was really her.

Anger surged through me, and before I could think better of it, I cut the rope and sailed through the air straight for her.

NOVA

I heard the slightcrack when my trap engaged. I even knew which one had been activated. I would catch that silver alien and put an end to his stalking me.

Rubbing my hands together in glee, I made my way quietly to the trap. When I didn't see him dangling, I creased my brows. Had I been mistaken? Carefully, I pushed the branches of the bush hiding me aside to get a better look.

An instinct that had been trained in me years ago made me look up just in time to seehimcome flying at me. With a squeal, I threw myself to the side, but his arm was still long enough to catch mine even as he fell and missed me. With a thud that announced all the air being pushed out of his lungs, he leveled the bush I had hidden behind.

I tried to pull away, but even as he lay there, stunned, his grip was like iron around my arm, not letting me go.

Fine!

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