Page 56 of Fated to the Hunter
“You mean the blackout batch?” So nicknamed because it got several people black-out drunk before they caught on and diluted it.
“I might’ve drunk too much of it at the knitting bee last week, and I might’ve totally stumbled into Ror’k on the way home.”
“And?” I motioned her to continue.
“I might’ve kissed him?”
“You what?” I gasped.
“Shhhh!” She looked around like she thought Ror’k might pop out from behind one of the shelves. “Might have. Because I actually don’t remember what happened. But Ror’k’s been showing up since.”
That explained why Dottie had been skipping her usual breaktime walk. She’d been avoiding a certain purple warrior.
“Well, have you talked to him?”
“No. He just stands there and watches me.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
There was a knock at the door, and this time it was Bael’k here to whisk me away in his silver shuttle. My heart melted the moment I saw him with those golden eyes, broad, purple shoulders, and sweeping, majestic horns. Instead of reminding me of a lost past, these features now made me all ooey and gooey inside.
“We’ll talk online,” I said, letting Dottie know that she wasn’t off the hook yet.
The moment we stepped into the shuttle, Bael’k was on me, his arms wrapping around me like he couldn’t bear another second apart.
“I missed you, Fire of my Heart,” he murmured, voice low and rough, vibrating against my skin as he buried his face in the curve of my neck.
I tilted my head, giving his horns room. I didn’t mind being called Wildfire, but Fire of my Heart was still my favorite endearment. The feeling of belonging wrapped around me, warm and familiar, and I melted into him.
“It’s only been two days,” I said with a soft laugh, brushing my fingers over the ridges of his horns.
“That is too long.”
His lips found mine, demanding as always. And as my clothes fell to the shuttle floor, and his body covered mine possessively, the feeling of belonging wrapped around me, warm and familiar, and I melted into him. I clung to him, overwhelmed both by pleasure and the undeniable knowledge that this warrior was my future.
I might not know what the future held, but I knew that for now and forever, we would face it together. Always.
THE END
Looking for my Xarc’n Warriors? Have you read the spin off series in the mountains? Here’s Chapter One from Hunter’s Quest to get you started!
I poked at the giant scuttler stuck in my trap, hoping it was exhausted enough not to fight back. The giant space bug sprangto life, crawling in place with its eight creepy legs and slashing at me with its toxin-edged front claws.
I backed away.
Damn! These creatures were ugly. For something that had evolved elsewhere in the galaxy, they sure reminded me a lot of mutant Earth bugs. They stank, too, like a dead rat soaked in rotten milk overnight and left out in the heat to ripen.
This particular make and model had the claws of a praying mantis, the head of an earwig, the body of an ant, and the legs of a spider. It wasn’t small either. Scuttlers were about the size of an overgrown Rottweiler and were the smallest of all the insectoid space invaders that now crawled over our planet. They were also the most common type. During the warm months, thousands of them poured out from the large nests they built under our cities and towns.
I was so glad I lived up here in the Rockies.
I had my shotgun on me, as I usually did when I left my cabin, but it would be wasteful to use my dwindling shells on a trapped bug. Not to mention, the sound would draw more into the area. There were flying bugs too, but they hunted by sight, and I was well hidden under the trees. Even though most of the leaves had already fallen, the evergreens still blocked their view. However, a gunshot would alert them.
I unstrapped my axe instead. It was a utilitarian tool and didn’t give me a good range. If I could get close enough to hit the bug with my axe, then it could also nick me with its claws. Just the tiniest of nicks was enough to paralyze a limb for life.
Bug toxin was no joke.
