Page 8 of Anna's Bounty
With my nose buried in his shirt, I swear I have no control when my eyes roll back because—my god.If this were a romance novel, I would describe his scent as something ridiculous, likethe sharp tang of metal and warm male.
When I breathe his scent deep into my lungs, he smellsclean, like whatever soap he uses or launders his clothes with. It’s a light, fresh scent. Nothing flowery or too musky that might overpower the heavier scent unique to him. That darker scent I have no words for, only that I find it… comforting.
My cheeks are burning when I pull his shirt away from my face and over my head. Thanks to Rovos being several inches taller than I am, the tank fits me like a dress and covers all my important bits.
“Thank you,” my voice comes out a hoarse whisper.
“You are no longer a prisoner,” Rovos tells me as his eyes search out mine. “Do you understand?”
“I do.” I glance past him, where the mantis-aliens are huddled together in the cage. They narrow their black eyes at me, showing their ire at being captured. Closing my eyes, I draw in a deep breath as relief washes over me.
This nightmare is finally over.
“The monkey said you’ll help us get back home?”
“Mo-kee?” Rovos repeats when “monkey” must not translate.
“Um,” I hold my hand about four feet off the floor and then cup my hands behind my ears, “the little guy. Big ears?”
Rovos tips his head back and lets out a booming laugh. The sound is rich and deep, and it stirs up the butterflies I didn’t know were collecting in my stomach.
“Don’t let Sone hear you call him little. Or mention his big ears.” Rovos chuckles. “He is a Markatti, and their egos more than make up for their small stature, which makes them an asset in battle because they are utterly fearless and as stubborn as they come.” His arm snakes behind my back, and his large hand splays across my lower back before gently guiding me in the opposite direction than where the blue chick took off a few minutes ago. “We will do everything we can for you. Until then, you are welcome on my ship.”
“Thank you,” I say as Rovos leads me further into the cargo area. We walk past the cages, all empty now, that I was too frightened to look too closely at before. When we reach the back of the ship, where a gaping hole has been blasted through the wall, I stumble to a stop. Streaks of singed metal radiate from the jagged opening. Biting down on my bottom lip, I hesitate when Rovos urges me into the dark mouth of the hole.
“You know,” I say as Rovos helps me through the blasted doorway into his ship, “I can count onone handthe times I’ve flown in an airplane.” My eyes struggle to adjust as we’re surrounded by darkness. “And now I’m on afreaking spaceship. Deep in space. With aliens.”
I’m not sure why my brain picked this particular moment for reality to catch up with me. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m following an alien from one spaceship to another. It suddenly feels like a lead weight is pressing heavily on me, and my hands start to tremble.
“Wouldn’t that makeyouthe alien?” Rovos asks, squeezing past me when the hallway narrows so he is in the lead. When he glances back at me over his shoulder, the space between his eyebrows puckers, and he stops. “Are you alright?”
“I’m—” I curl my hands into fists and then wrap my arms around my middle, wishing I could curl into a ball. “Things are getting kind of real for me.”
Rovos drops to his haunches in front of me, his tail flicking back and forth behind him, reminding me of an agitated cat. His new position brings him slightly below my eye level, and I’m reminded of a trick I learned in nursing school. By bringing yourself to a patient’s level, you don’t seem so intimidating—and, hey, it works. Some of the heaviness lifts from my ribs, and I suck in a deep breath
“Your people don’t have contact with other planets?” he asks in a low, soft tone. His green eyes stare straight into mine, and I notice that they have changed colors again. Where before I noticed bursts of gold, now they are the color of moss with slivers of amber radiating from his slitted pupil.
“No,” I shake my head, “we pretty much believe we’re it in the entire universe.”
Rovos’ lips quirk at the corners, and for a moment, I expect him to smile or to maybe laugh again. Instead, he only shakes his head. “Then, in that case, I think you are handling this remarkably well.”
“Well, that makes one of us.” My breathing hitches when I look at where one of his hands has wrapped around my upper arm. Looking at his long fingers, I notice he has retractable claws peeking out from the tips.
“Everything is going to be all right now,” he tells me as his thumb strokes back and forth across the underside of my arm, sending a skittering of ticklishness across my skin.
It occurs to me that Rovos is the first person—oralien—to show me any kindness since being abducted.
“I just want to go home.” My voice breaks, and when I blink, two fat tears fall from my eyes.
I don’t fight him when Rovos stands and pulls me against him. Instead, I press my face into his solid chest and wrap my arms around his waist. His velvety skin is warm and soft against my cheek, and one of his big hands cups the back of my head while the other rubs slow, soothing circles into my back.
“I’m sorry,” I sniffle.
“It’s all right. Everything will be better soon,” he promises me as a low, throaty vibration surrounds me.
Wait. Is he…? He is. He’spurring.
The rumbling vibrations transfer through his chest into me while the hand cupping my head gently skritches my scalp with just the lightest amount of pressure from his claws. My eyes slide closed, and I sigh. The massage helps ease my aching head.
