Page 3 of Borgaz

“Apart is definitely preferable if Naffon is going to keep provoking Kalpar,” he muttered and Temel sighed.

“Which is why I’m sending you on an inspection tour.”

“Understood. I’ll report back tonight, or perhaps tomorrow,” he added.

While he didn’t want to be on his own permanently, a period alone would be welcome. The decision to move to the property and all of the necessary details had consumed most of his time for the past few months.

“Very well. Just take a comm with you.”

“Yes, matma.”

Temel shook his head but grinned at the familiar nickname. A matma was an avian with a habit of herding her nestlings into a circle, clucking anxiously until they were all accounted for.

“Go on with you before I start pulling my knives.”

Borgaz laughed, saluted, and left. He could hear Naffon protesting loudly from the barn where the milking animals were kept, but he avoided the structure and went to the paddock instead. The animals the humans called horses were a genetically modified version of animals from their own planet, but they were not dissimilar to zebards, the riding animals from his own planet. He had ridden them in his childhood, and the task of saddling one felt unexpectedly familiar. A short time later, he was on his way, settling easily into the rhythm of his mount as he left the main house behind.

The sun rode high overhead, washing everything in a clear golden light as he started his survey. An unaccustomed sense of peace settled over him as he rode, looking down at the river running through the bottomland. Several small creeks diverged from the river, providing water for the various farms, although in at least one case, the creek had been dammed to cut off the supply of water. He made a note and moved on.

This was not… unpleasant, he decided. He still wasn’t convinced that the venture would be successful, or that he would choose to remain even if it were, but perhaps his time here wouldn’t be as miserable as he’d feared. Up ahead the road diverged so he chose the way closest to the main farm. He would work his way out over the afternoon and camp at one of the outer farms.

As he crossed over the boundary onto the smaller property, he noticed the many signs of neglect and deferred maintenance. If all of the smaller farms were in this shape, a male would have to be very dedicated to take on the task of restoring one. He came to a halt in front of the farmhouse and after a brief survey decided it was livable, despite its rundown condition. He made another note and was about to move on when he heard a crash from inside the building.

What the fuck?His body immediately went into battle mode, his senses sharpening as he swung silently down from the horse. He tied it behind a bush and approached the house, his hand automatically reaching for the blaster he no longer carried. Despite the lack, a fierce grin crossed his face, already anticipating a battle.

The warped boards of the porch floor barely squeaked as he made his way across them and in through the open front door. A wide hallway led from the front of the house to the back, a stairway rising along one side. Rooms opened to either side of the hall but they were shrouded in shadow, the windows covered with heavy curtains. The light coming in through the doorway illuminated the dust floating in the air as another crash came from behind a closed door at the rear of the house.

Stealthy footsteps carried him to the door, and he paused. His instincts told him to go in hard and fast, overwhelming hisenemy, but caution had replaced his impulsiveness many battles ago.

A clatter of what sounded like crockery falling came from behind the door. The kitchen, perhaps? Surely no one was foolish enough to think that this dilapidated wreck contained food supplies.

Curiously soft footsteps came towards his position and he waited, his body humming with anticipation as the door swung open.

“Got you,” he growled as his arms closed around the intruder, forcing his hands behind his back.

No -herhands behindherback. The deliciously soft, luscious breasts pressed against his chest left no doubt that his captive was female. Neither did the delicate features or the pretty pink lips drawn into a startledohor the sweet scent tantalizing him and urging him to pull her closer.

Mine.

CHAPTER 3

Don’t scream.

The warning echoed through Mary’s head as she stared up at the huge alien male holding her captive. The amber eyes of a predator glowed in the dimly lit hall and she froze instinctively, too afraid to move. He had red skin and a smooth scalp, the small horns curved up on either side of his head, giving him a devilish look. His hand tightened around her wrists, not painful but inescapable as he pulled her a fraction closer to that massive body.

Fear threatened to make her legs tremble, but one of the first lessons she’d learned after her parents’ death was never to show that she was afraid.

“Let go of me at once and get the hell off my farm.”

Her voice came out surprisingly firm but he didn’t seem to hear it, his gaze still focused on her face. Her heart thudded against her ribs so hard she felt sick, but she refused to try and struggle against a grip she had no chance of escaping. Then he grinned, a wicked grin that made her stomach do an odd little flip.

“Such a fierce little female.”

He pulled her even closer and, oh God, was that an erection, before he suddenly dropped her hands and stepped back, his smile replaced by a fearsome scowl.

“You are the intruder, female. What are you doing here?”

“I told you - this is my farm.” Wasn’t it?I really should have gone to see Rosie first, she thought, but she refused to show any doubt, glaring back at him. “Rosie told me that she was giving my family farm back to me.”

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