Lily and the Lion by Honey Phillips

Chapter Four

Lily followed the big lion alien through the jungle, still not entirely sure she was doing the right thing. But the sight of that monstrous mouth emerging from the river had been a fairly significant sign that she needed help. As much as she preferred to rely on herself, she didn’t know the ways of the jungle.

And he seemed… well, certainly not harmless. Perhaps well-intentioned was a better word. She was quite sure that he had knocked her down in order to prevent her from being foolish enough to put her hand in the water. She could even explain away his sniffing his way up her body as his way of identifying her. At first, she’d been too paralyzed to respond, but then he’d licked her inner thigh. And even though that big, rough tongue had felt surprisingly—disturbingly—good it had shocked her back into awareness just as he started to push aside her skirt.

Unfortunately, hitting him with her branch had only resulted in him pinning her to the ground. But even though he had been obviously aroused, he hadn’t made any attempt to take it further. Her nipples pebbled at the memory of that huge muscled body—and equally massive cock—pressing into her. Don’t be ridiculous, she scolded herself. Just because she’d always had a thing for big men didn’t mean it translated to an alien male. It was just a physical reaction.

But she still found herself watching him, the muscles in his broad back moving easily, his tail flicking back and forth. A tail! Surely that should be enough to discourage her lustful thoughts, but instead it only seemed to draw her attention to that round, firm ass barely covered by the small loincloth.

The loincloth had been what had convinced her to try talking to him. She’d hoped that it indicated some type of civilization. Not that she was expecting much, but if there was one alien, there had to be others, and perhaps one of them would know something about her friends. Although she would have felt a little more confident if he had drawn more than one building.

But he must have come from somewhere,she thought. And he must have had parents at some point. Hopefully he wasn’t as estranged from them as she was from hers. She called them once, when Stryker dumped her, but they’d told her she had to live with her mistake. They hadn’t wanted her back. The memory of that still stung, even all these years later.

Pushing the memory aside with the ease of long practice, she concentrated on Leo, striding confidently through the jungle. It was definitely getting darker now, and she wondered how much further they had to go.

“Leo? Is it much farther?”

He stopped and turned back to her, his eyes reflecting the light like a cat’s eyes. She wasn’t quite sure how much he understood, but hopefully it was enough. It would have been nice if he’d had one of those weird translator things the slavers had shoved in her ear.

“How far?” she repeated, using her fingers to mimic a walking motion. His fangs flashed white, and her heart skipped a beat before she realized he was smiling. She put her hands on her hips and huffed at him. “It’s not my fault you don’t speak English.”

Even in the dim light, she could see his expression change. His eyes dropped to her breasts, and she realized her pose had thrust them out. It certainly wasn’t the first time that she experienced that type of lustful look, but coming from a big feline alien in the growing darkness of the jungle it felt different. More primitive, more primal. Something inside her quivered in response.

He took two steps towards her, then bent his head and sniffed her neck, growling softly. The low reverberation sent a shiver down her spine and left a deep ache between her legs.

It’s the jungle,she told herself quickly, and took a step back, even though part of her wanted to feel the press of those fur covered muscles against her skin once more.

“How much farther?” she repeated, her voice unexpectedly husky.

Instead of responding, he bent down and threw her over his shoulder. Oh my God. This wasn’t how she envisioned touching him. Before she could try and wiggle free, he leapt into the air and landed on the trunk of one of the enormous trees. Even though one arm was locked securely around her legs, holding them against his chest, he began to climb. With her head dangling down his back, she could see the ground disappearing below them.

An embarrassingly girlish squeak escaped from her lips as she grabbed at him. One hand clutched the belt holding his loincloth in place while her other hand ended up on his tail. She squeezed it as he seemed to falter for a heart-stopping moment, but then he resumed the climb, moving even quicker. Closing her eyes, she kept a tight grip on her hand holds and waited for him to reach whatever destination he had in mind.

When he finally came to a halt, it took her a moment to realize that he was standing as easily as if he was on the ground. She cautiously opened an eye and saw a wide branch beneath them. It was broad enough to stand on, but she was still reluctant to relinquish her grip. It wasn’t until he bent forward and put her feet on the branch that she finally let go. His tail slid through her hand, and she thought she heard him growl again, but she was too busy making sure she wasn’t going to fall to worry about it.

The branch did feel sturdy, and it was easily three or four feet wide, but why had he carried her up here? Before she could ask, he moved past her to the main trunk of the tree. A dark hollow marked the place where the branch and the trunk joined, and she watched in increasing dismay as he brushed debris out of the hollow. She had a sinking feeling this was where they were going to spend the night.

Her suspicions proved correct. Once he was satisfied, he motioned for her to join him. She took a cautious step in his direction, then another, but couldn’t quite make herself enter the dark space. He shook his head, and then she was flying through the air as he picked her up and gently deposited her in the hollow. Once inside, it wasn’t as bad as she had feared. The surrounding wood was dry and had a faint, pleasant earthy scent. What appeared to be crumbled bark cradled her body as she suddenly realized just how tired and sore she felt.

Leo bent down over her.

“Stay,” he said firmly, then disappeared into the increasing darkness.

She nodded absently as she wiggled her way into a more comfortable position, then froze. She hadn’t used that word with him. If he knew even a few words of a language that the translator could interpret, didn’t that mean he must have had contact with someone who spoke another language? A language that an interstellar translator could recognize.

Her heart started to beat faster. Maybe there was a way out of here after all. And a way to find her friends. She waited impatiently for him to return but despite her impatience, she found herself battling exhaustion. She had slept very little during the weeks on board the alien spaceship, always afraid that one of the guards would go beyond lecherous threats, and the exertion of the day after an extended period of inactivity had tired her out. She felt strangely safe here, tucked into this little hollow, and the thought of Leo returning only added to that feeling of safety. Despite her best efforts, her eyes had closed before he returned.