Servant For An Alien Leader by Roxie Ray
Rita
Istared into Urul’s eyes, barely registering words being spoken. The wind fluttered, blowing a strand of his midnight hair loose from his braid, and I yearned to reach out and twirl it around my fingers. To trace the rock-solid line of his jaw and run my palms over the hard muscles of his chest and shoulders.
“Rita?”
At the sound of David’s voice, I snapped out of my daze, blinking rapidly. What had just come over me? I’d been captivated, mesmerized by Urul’s mere presence.
I jerked my eyes from his face, just now realizing David and Wisteria had joined us under the shade tree. Instantly, my body felt too warm as a blush crept over my cheeks. Had they seen what just happened between us?
“I, um, I should go with the vets,” I said in a rush, pushing to my feet so fast the world tilted, and I had to take a minute to get my bearings. Or maybe the sensation came from the feel of Urul’s crystalline eyes piercing my very soul?
Get a grip, Rita.
Before anyone could say anything, I was already scurrying after the vets, putting as much distance between us as possible.
I didn’t imagine that. Something had passed between us, like an electric current. A primal awareness I couldn’t have made up. I’d ceased to think in that moment when he stared into my eyes, only felt an insatiable urge to press my mouth body against his and see what happened next.
“Ridiculous,” I muttered as I approached the doors to the clinic. They silently slid open, and I passed through, trying to remember the way to the emergency center.
That’s what I’m trying to figure out.
Urul’s words clanged through my head as I tried to breathe deeply and steady my racing heart. What was he talking about? It couldn’t have been the rapuse pup. He’d seemed plenty well-versed in what it was and what it needed. But I didn’t want to get my hopes up that he’d been talking about me, and this strange thing happening between us.
It was too much to think about now. Especially with the little pup needing urgent care. It had looked so helpless in the hoverbox.
That’s right, focus on your job. Not your boss. I grimaced at how easily I forgot who Urul was, then vowed to put all of my attention on the rapuse for now. I was here for a reason, after all, and I wanted to learn everything I could about the animals of this planet.
I turned a corner and found the emergency center, spotting a cluster of vets standing around an exam table.
“I need five units of kaclu stalk and the aviel tincture,” one of the vets called out.
“Muirya, where’s the ravinis salve?” asked another.
I watched the Macronite vets work quickly and efficiently as a team to begin cleaning the rapuse’s wounds. Inside, under the sterile light of the clinic, they looked deeper than I’d originally thought. Thank goodness Urul had found the little guy in time, or he might not have fared so well.
But with the care of the veterinary staff, I was certain he’d be fine.
“Now we need to seal the wound,” the tallest vet, Dr. Roneas, said. “Rita? Would you like to assist?”
I lifted my eyebrows, but I was more than pleased that he’d considered to ask. “Absolutely. What do you need me to do?”
Dr. Roneas showed me how to use a Macronian healing device that bound skin together and sealed it with harmless rays that would instantaneously initiate the regenerative process without leaving scar tissue behind.
It was a fairly simple procedure, but I was still proud when Dr. Roneas said, “Great job. You’re a natural at this, Rita. We’re happy to have you here.”
I beamed, then ran my fingers of the rapuse pup’s soft quills. “He looks sleepy,” I murmured.
“That would be the aviel tincture; it works as a sedative. Rapuse pups are actually quite affectionate creatures,” the vet said, lifting the creature into his arms and cradling it. “They have a pack mentality, so this one is probably struggling even more since it was found alone.”
“May I hold him?” I dared to ask. He was just so cute and precious. All I wanted to do was cuddle him until he was well.
“Of course.” Dr. Roneas placed the pup in my arms, and instantly, it clung to me. “He likes you.”
Instinctively, I tucked the little pup into my shirt, and the vet raised his eyes in surprise. “How did you know they like skin-to-skin contact?”
I shrugged. “Don’t all creatures?”
Now that the little guy had been all cleaned up and cared for, my mind drifted back to Urul, and I couldn’t help but think how I wouldn’t mind a little skin-to-skin contact with him…
“Can I take him with me for a bit?” I asked. “I’d like to show Urul since he was instrumental in saving him.”
“Yes, of course. I trust your judgment in monitoring him. Take this tincture in case he needs it, and just bring him back in to be observed overnight.” The vet gave me a nod. “And thank you for your help.”
Keeping the pup tucked inside my shirt, I made my way back out of the emergency center and through the doors of the clinic. There was no sign of Urul, Wisteria, or David outside, so I followed the path down the hill toward the little village.
Along the way, I found them—or two of them, at least. Wisteria and David sat at a carved table on the side of the hill. They had schematics of the solar and wind power station that David had been hired to work on between them, but it didn’t look as if they were focused on that.
“Your body is a map of the external environment,” Wisteria said as I approached.
David’s eyes were closed, his face furrowed in concentration, and his head was tilted toward the sky. When Wisteria saw me, she held a finger to her lips, and I stopped a few yards away.
Curious, I watched as David breathed deeply, tuned in fully to whatever he and Wisteria were working on.
“You must study the map, follow the paths with your mind until you sense the reflection of the outer world,” Wisteria intoned softly, her gaze moving back to watch David. “Watch for minuscule changes in your body that indicate coming changes in the external environment.”
David breathed deeply again, shaking the tension from his limbs. “I’m not sensing anything.”
Was she teaching him to predict the weather? I’d gathered that was one of Wisteria’s primary jobs as the planet’s Soil and Sky Seer. Interesting that she would try to teach David.
“Focus,” Wisteria whispered, her large emerald eyes trained on David. “It’s very subtle, so quiet most people miss the signs. You’ll feel what is coming if only you listen to your body.”
It was strange seeing David so at ease, so calm and relaxed and peaceful. No smart-ass remarks or cocky quips. He simply sat there, apparently stilling his mind as he followed Wisteria’s instruction.
“Any heaviness in your fingertips?” Wisteria asked.
“No.”
She nodded. “That means no cold spells on the horizon. Any aches in your joints, even the most subtle?”
“No,” David repeated.
“So, no rain either.” Wisteria cocked her head. “Any restlessness, excitement, or thrills to indicate a coming storm?”
“Yes,” David said, his eyes still closed, but I thought I detected a strain in his voice.
Wisteria sighed. “Maybe we should try again another time.”
David opened his eyes, focusing them on Wisteria, not even noticing me standing there. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’m feeling the same as you, only it isn’t storm season—not in this region. We should just refocus and try another time.”
I was about to show them the rapuse pup when I saw Urul working outside his house just down the hill. Quickly, I slipped away, leaving Wisteria and David to their work, and hurried toward Urul’s house. He was on his side porch, piling logs. Sadly, he was wearing a shirt this time.
As I approached, he looked up and met my eyes, and that same electricity crackled between us, sparking to life in my chest and pulling me toward him.
Urul glanced down at my stomach, where I still cradled the pup beneath my shirt. “I don’t mean to stare, but if you haven’t noticed, it appears you’re going through some changes…”
I laughed, pulling the rapuse out and holding him for Urul to see. “Just a little pup. It’s good for him to have skin-to-skin contact. Just something I picked up from rescuing hundreds of orphaned kittens over the years.”
Urul came around his fence through a gate. “What’s a kitten?”
“A baby cat.” When he just looked at me blankly, I laughed again. “A cat is a domesticated animal on Earth, a pet. Basically, a ball of fur, warmth, cuddles—and occasionally some sharp claws. Humans are obsessed with them. Here, I’ll show you.”
I held the rapuse against my chest with one hand while pulling my IEP-issued Holopad from my pocket. The little device was pretty intuitive to operate, and I was already familiar enough with it to do a quick search and find an image of a kitten.
“This is a kitten,” I told him matter-of-factly, holding the Holopad up. “Cuddly, right?”
Urul smiled then, and my heart throbbed almost painfully, my stomach doing a somersault. He hadn’t smiled much at me since I’d arrived, but this smile… It was wide, gorgeous, warm, and caring, and it made me want to get to know the man behind it even more.
Then, time stopped and my breath hitched as Urul took a step closer. He lifted his hand and reached, and I stopped breathing entirely. But he was only reaching to pet the creature, running his finger along its nose.
Still, his bright blue eyes held mine in a magnetic gaze I couldn’t break, even if I wanted to. He was so close I could feel his breath on my cheek.
Trouble, a voice in my mind whispered. This man is dangerous. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to listen to that voice right now. Wasn’t sure of anything other than the raging desire burning inside me, desire like nothing I’d ever felt before.
“How did you first start taking in animals?” he asked, his deep voice low and smooth like velvet, and the vibrations of it rocketed through my entire body.
It took me a couple seconds to process that he’d asked me a question, and when I spoke, my voice was too high, too breathy.
“What did you say?” I liked that he was being friendly, that he was asking about me and seemed genuinely interested, smiling and leaning in as I spoke. It was way better than the shut-off version of the man I’d spent the first part of the day with out in the fields.
“I asked how you got started with animal rescue.” He stroked the pup’s nose once more then took a step back.
I was simultaneously relieved that I could now think a little clearer and disappointed not to have him as near. I was so discombobulated that I didn’t even think to filter my answer like I normally did.
“My parents died not long after David and I married, then I found out that I’m infertile—and I’ll never be able to have children.” I shifted the rapuse in my arms, and it cuddled in even closer. “I felt like I had all this love inside of me to give, love I wanted to share, and I simply couldn’t say no to another being that needed it.”
Urul’s blue eyes softened, but I didn’t get a pitying vibe from him, thankfully. “I’m sorry to hear about your parents.”
I nodded and swallowed. “Thank you. They were killed in a car crash.” A heaviness settled over me, so I tried to steer the conversation to a lighter topic. Here we were, actually speaking, and I was talking about death.
“Can you tell me more about rapuses?” I looked down and stroked its soft quills. “What’s its function in the ecosystem?”
Urul cocked his head, looking down at the little pup once more. “Every animal is important to the ecosystem, even if how isn’t immediately apparent.”
I smiled. “I couldn’t agree more. Every creature is special in its own way.”
“Exactly.”
Urul looked up and met my eyes once more, holding my gaze now. The look on his face was hard to read, almost as if he didn’t want me to know what he was thinking, but I would have given almost anything in that moment to know if he was feeling the same burning attraction as I was. The moment stretched out in silence as we stared at each other.
Finally, Urul cleared his throat and stepped back. “I’m going out to find the rest of the clutch tomorrow. If this one here made it, hopefully the others will too.”
“Can I come along again?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he replied, turning to head back into his yard. “I’d like that.”
So would I. Way more than was good for me.
Oh, boy, I thought as I turned and walked across the street to my new house. What have you gotten yourself into now?
I was anything but regretful, though. Not if it meant I’d get another day alone with the sexiest man I’d ever known.
