Alien Warrior’s Treasure by Sue Mercury

Chapter 5

What was happening?

Molly watched as Gavvin’s eyes darkened with lust and his muscles tensed. His heated gaze made her heart flutter, and she couldn’t look away. The air sizzled with excitement, and her heart leapt whenever his eyes briefly darted to her lips.

Was he thinking about kissing her?

I don’t want you to leave.

The words he’d spoken just seconds ago kept repeating in her mind.

Why hadn’t he kissed her yet?

What was he waiting for?

His hands were warm on her face, and her flesh tingled in all the places he was touching her—her cheeks and her freshly healed knees, where his torso was pressed against her. Breathless desire gripped her, even as a wave of virginal apprehension swept over her, making her quiver in Gavvin’s firm grasp.

His nostrils kept flaring, and she suspected it was because he was intentionally smelling her.

She flushed at the realization.

A low growl rumbled from his chest and his eyes darkened further. His grip on her face also tightened. At this moment, he looked more animal than man—or Vaxxlian. He looked as though he were being ruled by his primal instinct to mate. Nerves shuddered through her, but the aching between her thighs also increased.

Breathing became more and more difficult, as did rational thought. Part of her mind screamed that she ought to jump up and run out of Gavvin’s house, fast as her legs could carry her, but the other half of her mind urged her to surrender to her desires, to lean forward and beckon this handsome Vaxxlian warrior to kiss her.

To her utter embarrassment, her stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly, cutting through the sexually charged silence. She flushed as Gavvin dropped his hands from her cheeks and reared back slightly. A troubled look crossed his face.

“I hope I am not frightening you, sweet human,” he said, rising to his feet.

“I’m not scared of you,” she replied, even though that wasn’t entirely the truth. The urges she felt in his presence scared her, as did the feral gleam in his eyes.

“You are hungry,” he announced, after her stomach growled yet again. “Come with me to the kitchen, and I will prepare a meal for us.”

She looked down at her hands, remembering his gentle touch as he’d cleaned her wounds and then healed her with the dermal regenerator. “Thank you, but I’m fine, really, you don’t need to go to the trouble.” The instant she finished declining his invitation, she wished to take the words back.

He reached for her hand and helped her to her feet. She peered up at him, struck by his great height, as well as the wide span of his shoulders. He was a giant compared to her. Outcast or not, he was a strong warrior, one who’d had no trouble tackling and chasing off a massive bear. She couldn’t help but admire his strength and his bravery.

As she became lost in his green gaze, she fought the urge to close the distance between them, throw her arms around his huge torso, and rub herself up against him. She flushed at the carnal image this produced and glanced at the doorway, praying he couldn’t read her thoughts.

Run. Leave.

Stay here.

She couldn’t seem to make up her mind.

He dropped her hand, only to step beside her and place his hand at the small of her back, so he might guide her out of the bathroom.

“I insist you share a meal with me, sweet human. You probably used up the last of your energy during your ordeal with the bear. Or, Mr. Bear, as you like to call him.” A brief smile danced over his lips. “I promise I’m a good cook.”

“Very well,” she said after a pause, during which she struggled to calm her racing heart. “Thank you. But just a quick meal. I really should be getting back. And I still need to find that stunner I dropped. I’m hoping I can return it before Khann notices it’s missing. Also, I’d like to get home before anyone notices I’m missing.”

His intense gaze pierced her, and he increased the pressure on her lower back, guiding her down a hallway. “I’ll have you home well before sunrise, naughty human.”

She scoffed. “I’m not naughty.”

He arched an eyebrow at her, and her insides jolted with a thrill. “You stole a weapon from your guardian and snuck out of the house without permission,” he said in a mock scolding tone that made her flush all over.

Flirting, she realized. He was flirting with her.

Her pulse quickened and she felt faint with the joy of it.

“Well,” she eventually replied, with a grin tugging at her lips, “If I’m naughty, you’re just as ill-behaved as I am, since you keep coming up with reasons to keep me here.”

His nostrils flared and his eyes brimmed with surprise. “I have treated you with care and concern and I have acted as nothing but a… gentleman,” he said after a few seconds, clearly trying to think of the proper word.

She giggled. She couldn’t help it. She wouldn’t describe any Vaxxlian male she’d met as a gentleman. Fierce, protective warriors with caveman-like tendencies, yes. Gentlemen, no.

“Why are you laughing?” He looked somewhat offended, and she tried to wipe the smile from her face.

“Gentleman seems like too soft a word for what you are, Gavvin. I mean, I saw you attack a bear with your body alone. And those growls you made to scare it off… well, gentlemen don’t make those sorts of fierce noises.” But beasts do, she thought with a rising flush. So do feral, unmated warriors.

They entered the kitchen and he pulled out a chair, nodding for her to take a seat. She gladly sank into the chair, her legs increasingly unsteady in his presence. Her entire body quaked with desire, her insides shaking as little thrills assailed her.

He remained by her side, his nostrils still flaring every now and then, making her wonder yet again if he were smelling her and if he liked her scent. He leaned down, until his lips hovered at her ear, his warm exhales fanning down her neck. Oh God. What was he doing? She froze in place, not daring to breathe, as she shivered with pleasure and anticipation coiled low in her belly.

“Any special requests?” he asked with a nod at the stove, and it took her several seconds to realize he was asking about her food preferences.

He hovered for a few moments too long, his breath still caressing her ear, leaving her flushed and trembling and tingling all over. She tried to summon a witty or flirtatious response, but in her nervousness came up empty. So she gave a slight shake of her head as the aching between her legs quickened and flutters rose in her tummy.

“I’ll surprise you, then.” His soft exhale danced along her earlobe and she quivered as the giddy sensation of floating increased.

Finally, Gavvin straightened and crossed to the counter, moving with a confidence that she envied. How could he appear so calm and collected when she was trembling with need?

He grabbed a large glass bowl and started tossing ingredients into it, occasionally opening cabinets or the refrigerator to get what he needed. The feel of his breath on her ear and neck lingered like a brand of ownership.

“Thank you, by the way,” she said, her voice coming out breathless. “For healing my injuries, I mean.”

“You are most welcome.” A second later, he shot her a curious glance, opened his mouth, then appeared to hesitate. She flushed under his attention. He obviously wished to ask her a question, and she nodded in encouragement. She had asked him plenty of questions already, some of them quite personal, and it was only fair.

“Why did you leave Earth, Molly?”

She looked away from him and gave a deep sigh. Peering out the open window, she took in the view of the forest, of the glimmering vines and the swarms of New Vaxxlian lightning bugs. I’m safe here. I’m safe here and it’s okay to talk about what happened.

She drew in a long breath and turned to Gavvin. He was stirring something in the bowl, his unblinking gaze still fixed on her.

“I’m sure you’ve heard that Earth is experiencing all sorts of problems right now.” She lifted her eyebrows, waiting for him to answer. Surely he must be aware of the many reasons humans were fleeing her home planet in record numbers.

He nodded and scooped the contents of the bowl into a rectangular pan, then sprinkled what appeared to be chopped vegetables over it before popping it into the oven. Her mouth watered and her stomach growled again. It looked like kollnat, a popular Vaxxlian dish that tasted like buttery mashed potatoes mixed with tender cubes of beef and topped with vegetables, though she wasn’t sure what kind of meat actually went into the dish. It could be bear for all she knew.

“I know there are several wars occurring on Earth at this moment,” he said. “Is that why you left? To escape a war?”

“Sort of. There was a great deal of civil unrest occurring where I lived. Most of the roads in and out of my city were blocked, and I couldn’t afford passage on a hovercraft… not that I had a safe place to go even if I would’ve managed to escape,” she said, her spirits darkening as unpleasant memories swirled through her mind. “We were under a state of martial law in my city, but citizens were fighting back, and a lot of times, innocent civilians got caught up in the fighting. Buildings were bombed or set ablaze quite frequently. The apartment building I’d called home burned down not long before I came here. Thankfully, I worked at a hotel, and they allowed me to stay in a spare room.”

His eyes sparked with compassion, and he reached across the counter to take her hand. “You didn’t have a male family member to protect you from the danger?” To her relief, his tone held no judgment.

She shook her head. “No. I’m an only child and my parents are both gone. I don’t really have any other family members. My mom died when I was very young, and for years it was just me and my father. But right after I started college, he died in a hovercar accident.” I’m an orphan. She blinked back tears and tried to remind herself that even though she often felt alone, she wasn’t truly alone. Not anymore. She had Belle and Khann and Amie. Furthermore, she adored Khann’s brothers and their mates, and she’d also become good friends with Skylar and Macy.

Sometimes the turn her life had taken—the amazing opportunity to leave Earth and come to New Vaxx—seemed too good to be true. What if tragedy struck and her good fortune didn’t last? What if something happened and she was treated like an outcast again?

Gavvin squeezed her hand, and his firm grip grounded her in the present. Her heart ached for him, knowing he lived here all alone, cut off from his people. She understood his pain and had the sudden urge to embrace him, if only to ease his suffering the slightest bit, to help him feel less alone.

Does he want a mate? She couldn’t help but wonder if he wished for the companionship of a female, if he wanted to take a mate and start a family, as most Vaxxlian warriors longed to do.

As he held her gaze, still not blinking much—a trait common to most Vaxxlians—his eyes flickered with an intensity that caused her breath to grow faint all over again. Could he discern the visceral effect he had on her? She was starting to get the impression that he liked making her nervous, that sometimes he stared at her for too long because he wanted to watch her squirm and blush.

“Dinner’s almost ready, sweet human.”