Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

J anet awoke feeling like she was on fire and impatiently cast off her covers. A low hiss made her eyes fly open. Her golden scaled alien was sitting next to her, his strange black eyes focused on her now exposed breasts in obvious appreciation. She froze, afraid to move, but he did nothing other than stare at her. Her nipples tightened under the intensity of his gaze before she finally came to her senses and pulled the thin blanket back around her.

For someone who didn't seem to have any genitalia, he certainly seemed fascinated by her body. It was almost a shame, she thought, as her eyes traveled over his impressively muscled body. The rest of him was built like the epitome of male perfection – assuming one didn't mind scales. Or claws, she added, as her gaze reached his long, sharp-tipped fingers.

Wait. Why was she even thinking about this?

He was an alien and most certainly not her type. His smile was frightening rather than charming, and he could hardly spin her a smooth line of bullshit when they couldn't even speak each other's language.

That didn't stop her from watching appreciatively as he finally dragged his gaze away from her now-covered breasts and rose to his feet. The muscles of his abdomen rippled as he stood, the slanting rays of the sun highlighting each strongly defined ridge.

The sun…

Looking past him to the open desert, she saw the sun was low on the horizon. She had slept for most of the afternoon. It must be time to leave.

As she climbed to her feet, she tripped over the trailing ends of the blanket. The thin material slipped free and fell to the ground, leaving her naked once again. Blushing, she reached down to retrieve it, but couldn't resist a quick glance at her alien. As she suspected, his gaze was fastened on her once more with that almost… worshipful look on his face.

His enthrallment helped to soothe the lingering sting of Rick's betrayal, and she might not have covered herself quite as quickly as possible.

Don't be an idiot , she told herself. Maybe it's just because he's never seen breasts before. Although his interest certainly seemed like more than just curiosity. She darted another quick look at him to see that he was turning away from her, his hand rubbing his lower abdomen.

As he bent over to retrieve the water pouch, her gaze traveled down over wide shoulders and a muscular back to a tight, round ass. For the first time she noticed that he had a row of long, thick spines down the center of his back.

"Sabrost."

Again his scales seemed to flicker at the sound of his name and the spines stirred, lifting slightly. Fascinating. Perhaps it should have been frightening as well, but somehow her fear seemed to have disappeared while she slept. He hadn't touched her, and he hadn't left her. As far as she could tell, he had spent the entire time watching over her. It had been a long time since anyone had cared enough to do that.

"Valitta Janet?"

He had turned to face her, dark eyes intent on her face, and for no reason at all, she blushed.

"Can I have some water before we go?" she asked, resolutely ignoring her unexpected embarrassment.

He nodded and handed her the water pouch, still watching her face as she took a small sip. When she attempted to hand it back, he shook his head.

"Water," he urged.

"But what if you can't find more?"

He tilted his head inquiringly and she sighed. This language barrier was a pain in the neck.

"More water. Out there?" She gestured to the desert.

"Kyllavalittu."

He nodded as he spoke, so she assumed that he was responding positively. "We just say ‘yes.'"

"Yes," he repeated.

His accent was almost perfect, which gave her an idea. Moving over to one of the rock formations, she pressed her hand against it. "Rock."

"Rock," he repeated obediently.

"What do you call it?" She pointed from his mouth to the rock.

"Raidallankeilmassa."

"Really? That's the word for rock?"

He nodded, and she sighed.

"I suspect you're going to pick up English a lot faster than I can pick up your language."

But maybe all of his words weren't that complicated. Reaching down, she gathered up a handful of sand. "Sand."

"Sand."

"And in your language?"

"Kuivahiekkivienvlilla."

"You've got to be kidding. Ok, I think we'll stick to teaching you English." Despite her frustration, she couldn't help but smile when he nodded solemnly. "However, since the sun is going down, perhaps we should continue the language lessons later?"

"Language later," he agreed, gathering up their few supplies and placing them in his bag. He hesitated when he reached the knife, still lying next to where she had slept, then offered it to her.

The fact that he even thought to offer it to her only confirmed her early decision that she was safe with him.

"Thank you, but I don't really have a way to carry it." Especially if she was going to have to keep clutching the blanket around her with one hand. She needed a better method of remaining covered. "Can you turn around, please?"

He tilted his head again, so she pointed to him, then made a circle with her finger. With a puzzled frown, he turned in a complete circle and she laughed.

"No, I meant turn your back."

Stepping closer, she put her hand on his arm to guide him. That same shiver ran through him, his scales flickering. His breath came out in a low hiss, and she felt the firm muscles beneath her fingers turn to stone as he froze in place.

She immediately removed her hand and stepped back. "I'm sorry. Should I not have touched you?"

His dark eyes burned as he looked down at her, then he very gently took her hand and placed it back on his arm. They were so close she could feel the heat of his body. A spicy scent that reminded her of cinnamon teased her nose and she realized it came from him.

"Um, I just want you to turn around while I rearrange the blanket." Her voice came out low and breathless.

His gaze flicked down over the thin cloth, and she had the sudden feeling he could see right through it. Her nipples tightened, and his eyes focused on the small peaks.

Reaching out with one sharp-tipped finger, he just grazed the tip.

"Taydellinenvaalean," he breathed.

A completely unexpected bolt of lust swept over her as the delicate touch sent a pulse of excitement straight to her suddenly aching clit.

"Nipple," she whispered.

"Nipple."

His forked tongue flicked out as if tasting the air, and the unexpected sight brought her to her senses. She stepped back, tugging him around to face the rock in the process.

"Language later, remember? Now you stay there while I sort out this blanket."

To her frustration, he immediately turned back towards her, but he stopped when he was facing the desert. He pointed in that direction, his face etched in a stern mask.

"Stay there. Watch."

It was sweet that he wanted to keep watch, but did he really think there was any danger in that vast empty expanse? The thought sent a different kind of shiver through her body.

Stepping behind him, she wrestled with the blanket until she managed to make a type of sarong, tying the ends around her neck. Not exactly the height of fashion, but she was covered and her hands were free.

"Okay. You can turn back around now."

As he turned to look at her, a breeze gusted past the rocks, molding the material against her body. Dark flames burned in his eyes again, but he made no attempt to step closer. His eyes traveled down over her, leaving an almost palpable heat in their path.

"Taydellinenvaalean."

The word was barely audible, but she was sure he was referring to her nipples again, peaked from both the breeze and the look in his eyes. Her tongue flicked across suddenly dry lips and his gaze snapped to her mouth, watching avidly before he looked up to meet her eyes.

His big body was framed in the mouth of the ravine like that of some mythic warrior, as the last slanted rays of sunlight caught sparks of gold on his scales. The breeze wafted by again, carrying his spicy scent to her. His dark gaze ensnared her, the moment frozen in time.

Finally, he sighed and looked away, breaking the spell.

"Later," he said, pointing out to the desert.

"Yes, I know it's later." Despite her eagerness to find the location on the map – and hopefully, her way home – she felt an odd reluctance to leave the shelter of the rocks. But she'd never let fear of the unknown hold her back before, and she wasn't about to start now.

Once again he offered her the knife and this time she took it. It might be awkward carrying it, but it undoubtedly gave her courage as well.

Sabrost frowned, then retrieved the sandy remnants of her bag and sliced off the strap with one alarmingly sharp claw. The same claw that had touched her breast with such delicacy.

She was so distracted by the memory that it took her a moment to realize that he had fastened the strap into a rough belt and was indicating her waist.

"Oh, I see. That's a great idea." She took the belt, ignoring the spark of excitement as their hands touched, and fastened it around her waist. The knife fit neatly into the small loop he had created for it.

"This is perfect. Thank you." She smiled up at him, and when he smiled back, it no longer looked as strange.