Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

E rica made her way back through the jungle to the stream where she found Peri. Either she was getting better at navigating the undergrowth, or her clumsiness was starting to create a trail because it seemed easier this time. She reached the stream with only a few additional scratches.

The mud leading to the den was as smooth and untouched as it had been when she left. It didn't look as though his mama was coming back. Her heart clenched in sympathy as she ran a finger down his small back. She knew what that was like.

He raised his head, sniffing the air, then started wiggling in her palm. Somewhat reluctantly, she put him down on the ground. He immediately headed for the water. She watched anxiously as he trotted into the stream, but it appeared that her theory that he was a water animal was correct. He splashed around happily for a few minutes, diving beneath the surface, then reappearing several feet away.

She sat down on the moss-covered rock that she had used before and watched him play. The feel of the soft moss against her bare skin reminded her once again that she was naked. She spared a fleeting thought for the large wardrobe in her apartment, but neither her practical work clothes or the dresses her father forced on her would have been particularly well-suited for this environment.

At least she didn't need to worry about being cold. Although, it would be nice to have something to protect her bare feet until they toughened up. Wait a minute. Had she accepted the fact that she was going to be her long enough for that to happen?

Panic started to rise in her throat, and she forced the thought to the back of her mind.

She dipped her feet into the stream to let the cool water soothe the bruised soles, and Peri immediately came over to play with them. He put his little paws around her big toe and tried to tug her completely into the water. She laughed and shook her head. "It's not really deep enough for me, sweetie."

Since he was still clinging to her toe, she swished him gently back and forth in the water while he burbled happily. Then he went off to play more while she tried to decide what to do next.

The sun was sending slanting shadows through the branches and she realized it would soon be nightfall. The stream was pleasant enough but there was no real place to lay down. And as the shadows deepened, the jungle took on a mysterious and slightly frightening air. Even though she had yet to see any signs of large predators—unless you considered the big blue alien a threat—she really didn't like the idea of spending the night here.

Peri finally got tired of playing and climbed out next to her, chirping impatiently until she picked him up. He hadn't even glanced at the den that had been his previous home.

"I guess I'm your mama now, aren't I?" she murmured as she unwrapped the remains of the smoked fish.

She fed him until he started to yawn, then he curled up on her thigh, put his tail over his nose, and went to sleep. She took a few bites of the fish, but she wanted to make sure she had enough to feed him the following day, so with a regretful sigh, she wrapped it back up.

Cradling him in one hand, she began the trek back towards the beach. The sun was sinking quickly now, but the sound of the waves helped to guide her.

The beach was deserted, and she decided that here was as good a place as any to set up camp for the night. She sat down with her back against one of what she had decided to call palm trees, even though its only resemblance to the Earth tree was its thin swaying trunk. The sun was sinking into the ocean in a fiery blaze of glory, sending a sparkling lavender path across the waves. It was beautiful, but it was also lonely, and she briefly wondered if her alien was watching the sunset as well.

Her alien. She snorted. Given her luck with men, it would definitely be better to stay away from him—and yet she couldn't help thinking enviously of his snug little camp with his fire and his hammock.

If he can figure out how to do those things, then so can I , she thought resolutely.

As soon as the sun disappeared beneath the waves, darkness fell with shocking suddenness. The jungle was alive with noise—leaves rustling, insects twittering, and once or twice, a sudden loud squawk that made her jump.

The tree trunk prickled against her back, and the sand beneath her wasn't as comfortable as she had hoped. The small scratches and cuts she had acquired earlier were a constant annoyance, and her bruised feet ached.

The strange calm that had enveloped her all day started to bleed away. Everything up until now had been so fantastically unrealistic that a large part of her had still been convinced that she was dreaming. But this—the reality of sore feet and itchy sand and stinging scratches—this wasn't fantastic. This was all too real.

As the moon rose across the water, the knowledge of her situation settled into her bones. She wasn't on Earth anymore. She didn't know where she was. And she had no way to return to her previous life.

Peri made a soft snuffling noise in his sleep, and she gathered him up, clinging to his warm little body as tears dripped down her face.

Eventually, exhaustion took over and she drifted off to sleep. Dark images chased through her dreams, then her alien was there, fending off her attackers and gathering her close. He felt warm and solid, with a crisp, clean scent, and her lips curved into a smile as she settled into a deeper, more restful sleep.

A'rien smiled as his little female nestled closer to him. Her impossibly smooth skin felt like silk against his scales, and although the sensation had the inevitable effect on his cock, he also felt a surprising sense of protectiveness. She was so defenseless—no scales or fangs, and her cute little pink claws would never fend off a predator.

The little water creature she had tucked against her chest chittered softly, and he looked down to find it surveying him suspiciously through big purple eyes.

"Don't worry, Pair-ee," he promised, using the name she had chosen. "I have no intention of harming her."

It was a foolish name, just as her attempt to care for the wild creature was foolish. His own attempt long ago had not turned out well—for him or the creature. But here there was no one to torment her or to harm the creature just to cause her pain, and he couldn't bring himself to separate them.

He shook his head as he reluctantly placed her in his hammock. He had never felt the urge to simply hold a female before, but this wasn't the time to indulge himself. He had things to do.

After he had followed her along the beach, spying on her from the ocean, he had started to follow her into the jungle. Then he noticed a rough woven bag, identical to his own, half-buried in the sand at the edge of the undergrowth.

Inside, he had found another map. Although this one used different symbols to denote both the female and her planet, it was clear that they would share a destination. He snorted. Not only did he have no intention of returning to Taivan, he certainly wasn't going to send a desirable female away. The other item in the bag, a set of fishhooks, could prove to be useful. He appropriated them for himself, then buried the bag and the map beneath the sand once more.

Then he followed her trail and found her talking to Pair-ee. Her language was unfamiliar to him, but his translation implant was already beginning to process it. The upgraded device had cost him dearly, but the ability to interpret conversations he wasn't supposed to understand had come in useful many times over the years.

He had intended to drive her towards the beach, and then to his campsite, but as he watched her play with the infant and then feed it so carefully, he found himself reluctant to bother her. The fact that she ate little herself was unexpectedly disturbing. As he began to consider ways to provide her with additional food, she climbed to her feet and started back towards the beach.

She had passed within a few inches of where he was concealed behind some shrubbery, close enough that he could have reached out and closed his hand around a soft white breast or filled both hands with the lush curves of her ass as he pulled her against him.

It was not the time , he reminded himself, turning his attention to the fact that she seemed to have no idea he was so close. He sighed. No survival instincts whatsoever. Who could have been foolish enough to abandon her here in this place?

Could she possibly have been a prisoner as well? Looking at that innocent face and considering her protective treatment of the infant, he found it highly unlikely. Unless perhaps she had been framed as well. Hmm.

He considered the idea as she settled down beneath the tree to watch the sunset. No doubt it was as beautiful as it had been the previous night, but tonight he found that he would rather watch her face.

Had she been framed? Was this whole setup some kind of test to allow wrongly convicted prisoners to earn their way to freedom?

He still had no intention of returning, but what if she wanted to return?

No , he thought firmly. She was his now.

A foreign feeling, one he suspected might be guilt, filled him as the darkness fell and moonlight glistened on her tears. But he had long ago learned that guilt was a useless emotion. You did what you had to do in order to survive and flourish. And he would flourish much more happily with her at his side. And in his bed.

But for once, he wasn't going to rush headlong into a scheme. He had all the time in the world.

He should have left her under the tree, should have waited until she was hungry and lonely and desperate enough to come to him, but he couldn't do it. When she finally settled into a restless sleep, he couldn't resist picking her up and carrying her back to his camp.

Now, as he laid her gently in his hammock, a deep satisfaction filled him. Yes. This was where she belonged.