Barbarian Alien(68)

My heart aches. What must Raahosh be going through? I feel guilty that I’m in here, with company, bathing in the pool while he’s out there, miserable and alone. I force myself to nod. “Of course.”

I’m full of lies. I have no intention on telling him to go away. But if that’s what it takes for Aehako to be convinced, I’ll say whatever I need to.

He studies me for a long moment and then nods. “Come, then.”

I have to bite back my excitement. My cootie immediately starts throbbing in my chest at the thought of Raahosh, and I press a hand over my breast to quiet it.



RAAHOSH



I rip an arrow out of my kill, rage the only thing driving me to keep going. Rage, and the need to provide for my mate.

They may keep her from me, but they cannot keep me from doing my duty to her.

I return the arrow to my quiver and pick up my kill. It’s a fat quill-beast, and should make a good meal for Liz. I picture her soft, pink lips curling up in a reluctant smile as she is fed, but lets me know she’s not happy about it. That she can feed herself, thank you. That she is as strong and capable a hunter as me.

I rub my chest, where it aches at the thought of her lovely face. My khui is silent. It feels the loss of her as keenly as I do.

It’s late, the moons high in the sky and spilling their light onto the snow. My bones ache with exhaustion and I can’t remember the last time I ate, but it doesn’t matter. Feeding Liz is the only thing that keeps me going. I have faint memories of my father’s despair at my mother’s death – his anguish and his inability to leave his bed for long periods of time to care for myself or the sickly baby brother who was destined to die without proper care.

Then, I did not understand his suffering. I do now. I am living it all over again.

Snowflakes whip into my eyes and the night breeze picks up. I immediately tense. The cold doesn’t bother me, but I worry about my Liz. Humans are so fragile. What if she is not kept warm by the others? What if they don’t look after her as I do? Panic clutches at my chest and I immediately grab my most recent kill and stalk toward the tribal cave. I will deposit Liz’s latest meal and then go hunting for the creature with the warmest fur I can find. Perhaps a shaggy dvisti. The females about to bear young have thick, woolly coats that would make a fine cloak for my mate–

Two figures appear in the snow. I see nothing but glowing eyes, and my hand clenches around my bow. One pair of eyes is about my height, but the other is much smaller and would barely reach my pectoral. The only things that size are…

Humans, I realize.

Liz!

I drop my kill and push forward through the snow, my khui immediately beginning to sing. Before I can even see her face, I can hear her khui, resonating to mine. It speeds my steps.

“Raahosh?” Her beloved voice calls out softly, and a moment later, her small body is in my arms. I crush her to my chest, my hand cradling her head as I rain kisses down upon her brow.

My Liz. My love. My everything.

Her arms go around me and she shudders. “Oh God, Raahosh. Your skin is like ice, baby. What are you doing out here at this time of night? You should be near a fire–”

“Shh,” I tell her. Nothing else matters but that she is here, and she is in my arms. Off to one side, I see it is Aehako with her, and my jealousy surges for a moment. He lingers about my mate, even though she belongs to me. I don’t like it, but she is safe at least.

Her small hands brush over my chest and then down my stomach and she gasps. “I can feel your ribs, Raahosh. Have you been eating?”

Have I? I don’t know. My thoughts have been bleak and not entirely my own since they took her from me. I shrug. “It’s not important. Are you well? Is our kit?” I touch her everywhere, stroking my hands down her arms and then across her belly.

“The baby’s fine, I have the morning barfs, and I’m going to be pregnant for three stinking years,” she says. “Can you believe that?”

“Yes?”

She pats my arm. “Sarcasm, baby.” Her hands slide under my tunic and I feel her fingers against my skin. She’s cold, but her khui is thrumming a song with mine and my cock reacts. I ignore it, because Aehako is still nearby, leaning against a rock and pretending he doesn’t hear us.

I pull one of her hands into mine and lace our fingers together, then kiss her knuckles. It doesn’t matter to me that she has four knuckles instead of three. She could have eight on each hand and she would be the most beautiful of all creatures. “Why are you here so late at night? Why is Aehako with you?”

“He’s guarding me,” Liz says, and turns her face up for a kiss.