Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Tanner

For several long moments, Tanner kept her eyes closed. Let her body melt into the silver man's warmth. She wasn't alone, at least not for these few seconds. Even though she knew little about the man holding her… besides the fact that he was a fantastic lover… and his name, Binjaob. Only that wasn't right. It was as if the word floated in her mind. BinjaOB . He said his family called him Binja. Great lover, his name, and that the man had a family.

Tanny tried not to feel guilty for the last… well, it seemed like days of love-making. Except she had slipped under the robe when the sun was high in the sky, intending to sleep until the small moon was out. Resting during the darkest time of the night.

Fingers of sunlight pushed through the downed trees that made up her ceiling. They warmed her face. She could also hear birdsong. The sun remained high in the sky… so the lovemaking hadn't taken days then, or even hours. Well, maybe one or two hours, but it wasn't enough to feel guilty for.

Except. Taking a deep breath, filling her lungs with the man's spicy scent, Tanner admitted to herself that she let this Binja person claim every inch of her body. Maybe her soul. She wasn't as sure of that. Worse—in the heat of the moment—she claimed him. Instead of worrying about her sister, Tanny had let this stranger rock her world.

She worked to keep her breath even. Measured. Tanner didn't want to let the man know she had started to panic. She wanted him to drift off to sleep. To loosen the hold he had on her so she could run. Where? She didn't know. But anywhere seemed smarter than staying in his arms.

A tear fell from her eye and hit his chest. He tightened his arms. "Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head and mumbled, "No." Tanny sighed. Needing to take control, to recover some sort of normalcy. She demanded, "Let me go. I need clothes and want to sit up."

He seemed to think about his response. "I will let you go. But you should know that if you run, I will find you. You are my mate. I will always help you do whatever you need, but we do those things as a team."

Clamping her lips together, Tanner resisted the urge to argue with the man and his claim on her. Worse, she believed he could do what he promised her. Find her. Much of what had already happened between them was completely beyond her understanding. She'd argue once she knew what the hell was going on.

He released his hold on her and Tanny scrambled to her knees. A quick glance at the clothing she'd hung up to dry had her searching for the robe she used as a blanket. Everything was still damp, and she'd need them tonight. The dark green robe was piled next to a silver hip. Seeing the direction of her gaze, Binja picked it up and tossed the robe at her. Slipping her arms into the thin, yet surprisingly warm fabric, she pulled it around her body and sighed. Immediately more comfortable.

When she looked back at Binja, she noticed he had straightened out the loincloth he wore. At least his cock was covered. She frowned at him. "You're bleeding." And pointed at his arm. She could see the gash on his right bicep, just above his tattoo.

Reaching up with his left hand, he rubbed across the wound. "It is old blood. I just haven't had anything to clean it."

Tanner reached over and plucked a half-empty water jug from her stash and handed it and a clean strip of material to Binja. She used the strips to clean her body when she didn't want to bathe in the stream. "Use this. What happened?"

Binja took what she offered and raised his eyebrows. "You shot me last night."

"I didn't shoot you, I shot the alien they call the Andaran." Immediately Tanner realized what she admitted. Jumping up to flee, she made it outside her small shelter before Binja wrapped both arms around her and sat them both on the ground.

He made them a smaller target, effectively covering her body with his own and hiding them in the meadow. Her eyes locked on the arm surrounding her body. Black and silver camouflage covered his flesh, and in the bits of sunlight and shadow, he would be almost impossible to see.

"Your laser beam hit me first. I was standing just a few feet from Jacanas, getting ready to kill him myself. You shot him and his guards spirited him back to his compound."

Tanny felt him shrug. He didn't break the hold he had on her. Even though she didn't plan to run. At least not yet. She wanted information first. "You were going to kill him?"

"Oh, I'll kill him, Tanny. The Andaran's reign of terror on this planet will end soon. Hold still for a moment. Let me check the surrounding area and make sure we aren't hunted." His grip on her didn't change.

Sensing movement, she looked away from those muscular forearms, letting her gaze drift up. She watched the top portion of the tattoo on his bicep stretch away from his flesh, forming a tiny silver bird that stretched its wings… and flew away.

Sucking in a breath, Tanny demanded, "Who are you? No. What are you?" Then the realization hit. "That was the bird who pecked at my palm and left behind a damn cootie!" She began struggling in his arms. Pissed now. "It was some kind of tracking device, wasn't it? Damn you, let me go!"

His arms held her tighter. Binja dropped his head to her neck and whispered. "Quiet. I promise to tell you everything. It wasn't a tracker, or a cootie… which my translator tells me is some type of bug. I am not your enemy, Tanner. I will help you fight your battles, but we need to be careful. This forest is very close to the Andaran's compound. One of his Super Spies could decide it's a great place to look for the failed assassin. Let Eita do her job. The little bird is my eyes. In moments, we will know if we are alone or need to run."

Tanner let her head roll back against Binja. She allowed the tension to leave her body for the moment and simply enjoyed the whisper of sound across her neck. It teased over her skin and reminded her of last night. The pleasure, the guilt. Straightening her spine, resisting the temptation that came with muscular arms holding her close, she sighed. "I'm not running anymore, and I'm done hiding. And as fun as last night was… that's done, too. I don't have time for this." She waved her hand between them. Making sure he knew that this … was them. "I need to concentrate on finding my sister again. Since she disappeared and I missed killing the damn Andaran—I have to start all over." She closed her eyes, knowing she needed to make him understand. "You need to let me go." It didn't matter who or what he was. He was a distraction she couldn't afford.

He made her weak. Even now, she had to force herself to say the words. To break it off. When what she wanted to do was turn around, wrap her legs and arms around him, and sink into his strength and caring. Because she could feel both those things radiating from him in waves. Not just that, but the sex… passion. Heat.

She wanted him again and Tanner damn well couldn't do this … with her sister still missing.

"I promise I won't run. Just let me go." She wouldn't run. But the tight band of arms surrounding her made Tanner wish things could be different.

Not that he let her go. If anything, his hold on her tightened.

Tanner didn't think she had the mental strength to argue with Binja. Nor did she have time for a relationship. She needed only one thing on her mind, and it wasn't tall, dark, and alien. Her thoughts completely derailed at his next words.

"There are three men searching the forest. All of them started near the Andaran's compound."

"What? Where are they?" she hissed and wiggled to get away from him.

He held on. "One is cutting directly through the center of this piece of wilderness, one is moving through the bottom third, and the other the top. They don't appear to be looking for anything specific… just searching for tracks. The one in the middle is an Ahnok. The Andaran has several of them working as his Super Spies. With the halo of eyes surrounding their skulls, they make excellent bodyguards and trackers. We definitely want to avoid him and he's headed almost straight for us. Moving slow, careful. Probably trying to pick up any trail. The one heading through the bottom will reach the desert fairly soon and probably move toward the Andaran's private spaceport. That one is wearing a robe. I can't tell much about him." He fell silent.

All thoughts of leaving Binja fled. Tanner straightened her body, realizing she'd curled into the silver man's arms. She needed to think, and gather the few things she had at this location, or hide them better. "What about the third alien?"

Binja sighed. "He looks local. The man is moving faster, as if he has a goal in mind. That area runs to hills and taller trees. If it were me, I'd head for a vantage point up in some tree or on a cliff where he could sit up high and watch for movement. We need to leave. My preference would be to exit near the marketplace. There will be more people around and we won't stick out so much. But doing that means we risk going toward the local. Once we're out of the forest and in town, we'll blend in. Keep the hood up on your robe. The dark green color won't be as noticeable as your pale hair." He skimmed his hand over her hair and the touch centered Tanny.

She nodded her head. It didn't take long to realize that without Binja and his bird, her enemies would have captured her today. Tanner was glad she wasn't alone. "Give me five minutes. I'll dress, put the robe over my clothes, and pack the few things I want to take. If I make a pile of items like the water jugs, can you hide them? I'd rather they didn't know anyone camped out here. And depending on what happens, we might need the supplies later," she said. What she meant was… she might need them later. If the aliens searched the forest and found no sign of her, this place could be her salvation.

Binja smiled at her. "Yes, good plan. Can you bring us out near the market, or should I have Eita choose a trail for us?"

Tanner shook her head. "No. I've lived in this forest for months. I have food and water stashed in strategic places and have explored a few tunnels we can use if the local doesn't head toward them. There are also several areas that have much thicker vegetation. It would make it difficult for anyone to spot us. If the damn bird can just make sure we don't run right into one of them, that would be great."

Turning back to her shelter, Binja nodded. "Eita will stay in the trees and monitor those three. As we walk, I'd like to hear your story, Tanner. None of the men will be close enough to hear us for several hours." He hesitated a moment and asked, "You said something about a sister?"

Sucking in a breath, she hesitated just before she ducked into the shelter that had kept her safe for the last few months. Tanner turned and studied Binja. Her gut told her that she could trust him, but she wanted some answers. "First, I have some questions for you. There is plenty of time to talk. I'm going to avoid the obvious route out of the forest. We won't reach the market until right before it closes. Just in time for the small moon to rise."