Page 21 of Craved By the Alien Warlord

Again, she shook her head. "It took us ten years to get here. If we don't return, the Terran Confederation will cut their losses. They won'tcome to pick us up. They willnevercome back here."

Again, that was a win in my book, but something else stuck in my head. "It took you ten years to get here?"

She nodded.

"So you were what? Sixteen when you left?"

At that she smiled, reminding me of what I stood to lose should something happen to her, and I bit the inside of my mouth to stop myself from screaming at her and tying her down.

"That's not how it works," she explained, oblivious to my thoughts. "We were put in hyper sleep, a state where the body doesn't age."

I tried to work that out in my mind but was left with more questions than answers. One stuck out though. "So, when you would have returned to Earth, you would have been at least twenty years older? Everybody there would have aged."

Understanding where I was going with this, she nodded. "Yes, one of the requirements to go on this mission was to be single, but that doesn't mean people don't have brothers or sisters or parents on Earth they want to return to."

Honestly, I didn't care about the humans plight one bit, but I wondered, "Do you have family you wish to return to?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Good." I nodded, satisfied yet saddened by the loneliness her answer conveyed.

She eyed me warily. "Then, are you okay with me going?"

"Nyck. I will never beokaywith it." Her wariness deepened, and I sighed. "But I do understand. I don't like it, and I won't have a moment of peace until you're back, but I understand."

"Okay then," she moved her head up and down. "Not that I need your permission to go."

A chuckle warred with indignance inside me, and I wondered if she cared about my feelings at all, but the sideways glance she threw at me gave me the answer. She did.

"So what are we fighting about then?" she tried to give me a smile, but it was insecure.

It wasn't as simple as that, but I didn't want to spend the rest of our time together fighting either. "If you're not back by tomorrow night at this time, I will tear your FOB down."

"Please don't. Please just trust me," she pleaded.

"I'm trying." I pulled her into my arms, and she didn't resist. "I really am, but you have to understand that where I come from, a male just doesn't let his kallini walk into danger like this. It goes against everything inside me, against everything I stand for."

Her arms slung around my back, and she looked up at me. "I'm trying to see that too. But where I come from, men let their women go and fight, they trust their abilities."

And that's why they were called men not males, I thought, but kept my mouth wisely shut. If our fight had taught me anything, it was what an excellent foe she could be. We both had the ability to hurt each other more with words than weapons, and that thought scared me. Mates shouldn't hurt each other.

I let the word mate go for now, not willing to dwell on how much I wanted her to be my mate or how much I feared she would never accept such an offer, filling me with misery again.

"Come back to bed, let's get some rest. You'll need it," I suggested, then lifted her off her feet and carried her to the furs.

She snuggled her head into my chest and a sigh of contentment moved through me.

Once again, we made love before sweet oblivion took over for a few hours.

The next morning found us both strung tight. Neither one wanted to say something wrong and antagonize the other or provoke another fight. I didn't want to let her go, but I knew she felt she needed to.

Thorodoth waited for us by a low-burning fire. He handed us cups of tea and sweetened bread for breakfast, wisely not commenting on our tense expressions and body language.

"We will take ten warriors and accompany you as close to the human fortification as we can," he finally said when it was time to leave.

"Just beware of patrols and drones," Chrissy reiterated.

"They will be dealt with," Thorodoth assured her.

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