Page 2 of Rhaz's Redemption
“You remember when he and I glowed for each other and he left the cavern shortly after?”
“Yeah, I just assumed he needed to collect his thoughts. Are you telling me that mother fucker never came back?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” I admitted. Anger still churned in my gut. Why hadn’t he just talked to me about it?
“Do you know why?” Fatima asked.
“No, I wish I did. We could have worked something out. I would have much rather spent the night helping each other out than suffering alone.”
I didn’t like the idea of us going back to strangers after a night of passion, but at this point I’d take anything. It just seemed like the logical thing to do.
“That bad huh?”
“You have no idea,” I sighed.
I’d never experienced such intense arousal in my life. As a librarian and an avid romance reader, I’d read about such thingsmany times over, but experiencing it was no joke. I had to move my bed to an unused cave so I could relieve myself in peace. Staying in the room I shared with multiple other women simply was not an option that night.
“Why did you say that something had happened that night when it didn’t?” Fatima looked at me confused.
“I didn’t,” I growled. “I don’t like having that much attention on me so when all the women gathered around and kept asking me what happened the only thing I could think to say was that I don’t kiss and tell.”
That had seemed to satisfy most people, but it also meant that it had left the impression that Rhaz and I had spent the night together when we hadn’t. I wondered if that rumor had reached him yet or if the guys had pestered him as much as the women had pestered me. Drovo and Lumod seemed to thrive on gossip and now Brexl, as shy as he was, had recently started asking more questions when people recounted their stories to him. I suspected this was due to Taylor’s influence. He was a fast learner, I’d give him that.
The familiar sound of the cave entrance door opening and closing drew our attention back to the mountain. We hadn’t strayed far. It was too cold out to walk beyond the clearing, and since Ashley had taken that little adventure recently, the guys had requested we all stay near the base of the mountain until the spring.
The familiar silhouette of the grumpiest blue alien in our dekes appeared. Rhaz. He glanced in our direction and I could feel the heat of his gaze from here. But his eyes did not linger long on me for long. He turned and headed for the fire pit that had remained unused ever since the weather turned cold.
“I don’t know why he didn’t join you for your luminescence, but what I do know is that he follows you around like a lost puppy,” Fatima observed.
“He does not,” I argued. “Look, he’s just sharpening his bone knife out here in the fresh air.”
“Have you ever seen him sharpening his tools out here before?” Fatima countered.
“No,” I sighed. “But I don’t think he’s out here because of me. It wouldn’t make any sense. If he liked me, then why avoid me as much as he does?”
“Men are weird. Even blue ones,” she shrugged.
I looked over at him again. He wore a serene expression as he sharpened his knife against a stone. Completely unbothered by the world and everything in it. Had our luminescence effected him at all? Maybe that’s why he didn’t seek me out. There could also be another reason. A reason I’d refused to dwell on. He could be angry he was bound to me. Maybe he found me unattractive and if that were the case maybe spending a lust-fuled night alone was preferable to spending it with me.
The most frustrating part was that I had no idea. He refused to speak to me. He seemed to sense when I find enough courage to approach him and made himself scarce. What would he do if I approached him now? He couldn’t pretend to be busy. He couldn’t slip into a conversation with someone else. Maybe I should.
“Tarak has an announcement to make. He’d like everyone to come back inside,” Lumod yelled from the entrance.
Fatima and I looked at each other in surprise. What could this be about?
Rhaz stood but did not move toward the door. Instead he tracked Fatima and I as we walked from the clearing to the entrance of our mountain home. Once we were safely inside he joined us and put the large boulder we used as a safety precaution in front of the exit.
“Let’s see what this is all about,” Fatima wondered aloud as we walked arm-in-arm to the main cavern.
Chapter 2
Rhaz
The entire dekes gathered together in the main cavern. Space was tight so I kept to the far wall. I did not like to be penned in. The beast within grew irritable and the feeling reminded me too much of death and how small your soul can feel when it crosses to the other side, a feeling I knew well.
Tarak stood at the front of the room. He looked to Axon who was sitting with his arm around Ashley, and gave him a slight nod. Axon rose from his seat and joined Tarak in front of our dekes.
“I have learned of troubling news,” our leader began. Tarak might be the same age as the rest of us, but his wisdom far outweighed the rest of us.
