Chapter 5 Harb’k

I ordered my body not to react to her lithe little body and failed. I tried to shift my position to try to mask my aroused state, but there was no way for me to hide the giant bulge tenting my loincloth, not with her pressed up against me.

The reaction had been immediate the moment she’d been in my arms, and her initial attempt to get away had only accelerated it. How could I control my urges when she was rubbing that delectable ass against me like that?

“Calm. I won’t hurt you.” My translation device, already muffled against her body, repeated the words at a low decibel. I hoped it was loud enough for her to hear; humans had less acute hearing. That was both a curse and a blessing right now as the humans passed by outside.

Their lanterns cast shadows through the window onto the ceiling. I didn’t know why they were wasting fuel if it was so rare. The moonlight was bright enough to see by. They were looking for Zoey. These buildings were shoddily built with thin walls, and they might have heard our conversation if I hadn’t reacted in time.

Would Zoey rather face her pursuers than me? If she screamed now, they would surely hear. I wouldn’t let them take her. I wasn’t worried about being taken prisoner, not with just the three of them and my ship parked so close. I was worried the little female would get hurt in the struggle.

“I can’t believe the bitch sabotaged the charging stations,” one of them said.

“Whatever. We have enough charge to make it to the one in the pub.”

Zoey stiffened in my arms. This news upset her. I tightened my arms, keeping her immobile but not so tight as to make her uncomfortable.

“I don’t think she’s here,” said a third voice. “I’ve been this way recently. These houses are looted out. And I think I saw one of them purple freaks in the area.”

“Yeah, she ain’t here. Let’s stay in the big house at the top of the hill tonight and pretend we’re rich.”

“We are rich,” replied the first one who spoke. “This whole town is ours. Tomorrow, we’ll head out at first light to the next safe house and charge up.”

We stayed that way until the three males returned to their vehicles and drove off.

“They are gone,” I said. “Continue your story.”

She sagged in my arms, and I resisted the temptation to sniff her hair and inhale that delightful scent. I relaxed and let her go. She had calmed by now, and instead of scrambling away, she moved slowly to lean against the wall next to me.

“Corey is the one who spoke first. He was part of the group that stole that hunter’s shuttle and convinced Sanctuary to keep him as a prisoner. Honestly, I was surprised Clark—he’s Sanctuary’s leader—even agreed to it. He seemed like such a logical man.”

“Heather says they were withholding vital medication, and many elderly and children were dying.”

She nodded. “Yeah. That’s what we heard too. And we didn’t have any to sell them. Well, anyway, after your guy was rescued, Sanctuary halted all trade with Corey’s group.

“Then, one day, we found Corey waiting for us at one of our safe houses. He said his group was all dead. The hunter they’d messed with came and killed them all. Burned everyone alive.”

I pressed my lips in a thin line. Kan’n had gone back but he had gone back with good reason.

“I’m not good at Xarc’n faces, but you suddenly look a whole lot scarier. That tells me there’s a lot more to this story than I was told.”

I tried to school my features. I didn’t want to scare her. “There is. This nomad group has been causing problems for the humans I work with. Kan’n, the warrior they imprisoned, found his mate in our group and stayed. The nomads lured scourge to attack our camp in the middle of the night, while they tried to infiltrate through the back. Kan’n and Pip responded by following the group back to their hideout. Their leader, knowing he was trapped, threw an incendiary in a confined space. Kan’n barely made it out alive. We didn’t know there were other survivors of the incident.”

“There weren’t. Corey and a few others were out. They only found out when they got back. We were dumb, and we let him into our group. I mean, he’s an asshole, but he’s still Connor’s brother. After a while, he started talking about this New Earth Militia and how we should join them.”

“I have heard of them. They do not like Xarc’n warriors and still think we are here to take over Earth.”

She scoffed. “Clearly, they haven’t watched you guys fighting these bugs—what’s your word for them again?”

“Scourge.”

“Right. Scourge. They haven’t watched you hunters fight these scourge like your life depended on it.”

“You do not subscribe to the belief that we are using the scourge to take over your planet, then?”

“Hell, no. Neither did the rest of my group. Connor put Corey in his place, and we ignored him every time he brought up the NEM.” She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, it seemed like she was somewhere else. “We should have watched him a lot closer. Two of his friends showed up the other night, and they—” Her words tripped over a breathy inhale that ended in a sob.

“I’m sorry.” I put together the information I gathered from listening to the three males and now understood. They’d massacred her group.

“Corey had traveled with us for long enough that he knew many of our safe houses. Connor made the mistake of giving him the code for our safes. Corey and his friends left me and Riley alive so they can offer us to the NEM.”

I couldn’t stop the low growl from emerging.

Instead of shying away, she huffed. “Right? Too bad for them. I’m the one who set up all the charging points for our group. Now, I’m sabotaging them so they can’t use them.”

Ah, so that was why she’d stopped at the other locations.

I wanted to offer to dispose of the males for her, but I worried that would be going too far. I’d just met her, and I didn’t want her to think I went around disqualifying humans from life.

Her stomach chose that moment to complain that she hadn’t eaten yet. I dug into the pouch at my belt and took out the foil-wrapped food I picked up from our base earlier today. That was when I noticed the folded-up piece of paper.

Oops, I was supposed to give that to her. Heather wanted to convince Zoey to come live with us. That would be ideal. I’d already promised I wouldn't take her away in my shuttle today, but there was always tomorrow.

I handed it to her. “This is for you. From Heather.”

She took it from me tentatively and unfolded it. As she read the letter, I unwrapped the foil covered food.

Zoey’s eyes were round as she tucked the note into her pocket, and I held the open foil out to her. “Take one. Heather said they tried something new.”

“What in the—” Her eyes were wide. “How? That looks freshly made. How?”

“I do not know. I am not a good cook.”

She shook her head but didn’t ask any more.

I continued to hold the opened foil to her. “Take.”

“I don’t want to eat your food.”

“I have food bars in my ship.”

She made a face. “We tried some of your food bars. I don’t mean to offend, but they’re kind of nasty.”

“You do not offend. The older bars we brought from the last planet are barely palatable, even to us. The ones made here on Earth from your domesticated bovine are much tastier.”

“You mean cows? I guess beef food bars would be better than whatever the other bars were made of.”

“They are made of an animal that looks similar to your lobsters, except they’re green and live on land, and they grow much larger. They taste horrible but are safe to eat. I much prefer your cows.”

“The space bugs do, too, I think,” she said wryly.

“You are correct.”

“So you’re telling me you hunters raise cows for the food bars? I thought the bugs got them all.”

“They got most of them. But we saved many. They only thrive now in our island production centers.”

All the cows in this area were now preserved inside scourge nests. It was the reason the nests were still going strong. There had been many of these bovines all over this continent, and the scourge had collected them all the first year and injected them with their toxins, preserving the meat. It would feed the nest for a very long time.

“If you do not want my meat, have this.” I dug in my pouch and handed her another package wrapped in foil. “I am not partial to sweets.”

She opened the foil and gasped. “A cookie!” She did not try to give it back; instead, she took a bite. “Oh, this is good. And there are eggs in these. All the powdered eggs have gone rancid. Ours did.”

“They are made from fresh ova.”

Her brows drew together. “Sanctuary has chickens, and we traded with them for eggs. But it’s been a while.” She ripped off half of the cookie and held it out to me. “I don’t want to eat your entire cookie. Let’s share.”

“No, it is yours. I tried numerous times to convince the humans to add pieces of meat or perhaps chopped-up chunks of our food bars to their baked goods,” I said. “They did not like my idea.”

She grinned, and the smile lit up the room over the pale moonlight. “It’s not that crazy an idea. I used to make bacon cookies every Christmas. They were my specialty.”

I licked my lips, my ears focusing on that magical word: bacon. “I love bacon.”

Zoey laughed, and the sound made my heart clench. “We’re not so different after all.”

I moved over so as to be closer to her, and she didn’t move away. I offered her a sip from my flask, which was filled with enriched vitamin water. She declined, dug into her bag instead, and brought out a water bottle.

“I will stay with you tonight,” I declared.

“You said you wouldn’t—”

“I will not steal you away in my shuttle, but I did not promise I would not stay. You should not be alone after such betrayal.”

She tilted her head, and I could see the cogs in her brain working. “I guess that would be okay. As long as everything stays PG-13.”

I knew what that meant. I’d lived with humans long enough and watched enough movies to have asked about this phrase. This amused me.

“I accept.”

I stretched my long body out diagonally on the bed, glad this was one of those male-ruler-sized ones. I had also learned that king-sized beds were not only for kings. It was, however, one of the only beds that fit a Xarc’n warrior, even if we had to tuck our legs in so our feet didn’t hang off the end.

I didn’t miss Zoey’s eyes as they trailed over my body appreciatively. The moonlight must be bright enough for her to see. Her eyes lingered on my abs before skating over my loincloth quickly, then slowed at my giant thighs and muscular calves. Before she could take too detailed a look at my feet, which, unlike my hands, did not have retractable claws but permanently exposed ones, I moved, grabbing her and tucking her neatly against my body.

“Hey!”

Before she could voice her protest, I said, “I agree to PG-13. Lying on a bed with our clothes on is PG-13. You even have your shoes.”

She rolled her eyes. “All you have is a loincloth on. I wouldn’t exactly call that clothed. And I keep my shoes on so I can run at a moment’s notice.”

“This is fully clothed for me.”

“Fine. But nothing else comes off. What about your shuttle? Aren’t you worried someone will find it?”

“My shuttle is safe.”

“Okay, then.” She turned in my arms to face me, which was just as well because her proximity meant my body was reacting again, and I wouldn’t be able to hide it if her ass was pressed up against my crotch.

“Works for me.” She started to turn around again, but I held her in place.

“I wish for a goodnight kiss. Kissing is PG 13,” I said, reaching to cup her cheek gently in one giant palm.

I wasn’t completely new to this human courting ritual. I experienced kisses during the dates I’d been on. They had been pleasurable, but I hadn’t wanted to kiss those females the way I wanted to kiss Zoey now.

I did not smell any fear from her; if anything, there was the slightest scent of arousal. Even if she didn’t approve of me, the warrior, she approved of my body. Human bodies were similar enough, though much less muscular, and I was a Xarc’n hunter in my prime. She’d noticed.

Since she did not object to my closeness, I leaned in and covered her mouth with mine.