Claimed: The Warriors of Nur (5 page)

So he didn’t abandon me…

She frowned at the tingle of pleasure that that knowledge brought.  Stepping into the clearing, she made her way to the fire.  Her legs felt weak and unstable--the lingering effects of heat exhaustion, she assumed.  As she drew closer, she discovered the origins of her sensory temptation.  She had no idea what it was, but whatever he was cooking was…

“My filtration system!”  She grabbed the large thermos like container beside the satchel.  “Why, that little thief…” she sat placing the overlarge bag in her lap, and began searching its contents.  “Where it is…where is it… where…is…it…YES!”  Jumping to her feet, she squealed, fastening the device to her wrist…
yes…yes…yes…yes…yes!  Thank God, I thought I…  “
TARZAN!”

Erol stood silently and watched. 

He’d known the minute she had stepped in the clearing.  Her scent preceded her.  His hands filled with vesi fruit, he watched her creep cautiously towards the fire.  Inhaling deeply, he was reminded of the softly citrus tangeli fruit, but mixed with something more exotic, more raw.   

For the first time, he noticed the thick plait that trailed down her back.  It must’ve been coiled and anchored to her head somehow.  Now it rested down the center of her spine, almost brushing the deep curve above her rounded behind.  He wondered how it would feel to run his hands through its freed mass.  The dark chocolaty-black tone matching the delicate brows and thick lashes that framed her eyes.  His body hardened as he imagined how it would feel to have those thick locks gripped tightly as he mounted her…filled her. 

He strode quietly towards her as she carelessly strewed the contents of his
borża
around her.  He didn’t mind if she looked, he carried only a
Sikkina
with him when he traveled , and no other weapon.  The sharpened knife could be used for both hunting and defense, and was gifted once a male reached his maturity, he received it as a gift of the bloodline.  The
Sikkina
was worn in a skin made from the hide of the
Ġilda
strapped to the upper arm or outer thigh.  The
borża
was used only to carry food and supplies when he traveled.  There was nothing she could use for harm. 

He stepped back as she suddenly jumped to her feet with a soft squeal.

Checking the ground, he looked for
brimba
or
nemel
bugs, which nested in cooler areas, and while they were not usually poisonous, they stung when they bit and left small burning welts behind. Perhaps she had been stung.

“(Are you injured?)”
  He continued to scan the ground around them.

Dropping the fruit, he gently grabbed her wrist to lift her arm above her head.  The
brimba
favored the warmer area under the arm.  Seeing nothing, he repeated the exam on the other side. 
“(Female ... are you injured?)”
  He gently shook the arm he held.

Where did he just come from?

One minute she was alone, and the next he stood towering over her.  Again, she noticed how beautiful his eyes were.  They slanted like hers, but where hers would be described as erotic, his gave him what could only be described as a ‘predatory’ gaze.  Now they narrowed in concern as he continued to scan her neck, arms, and shoulders.

“(Female ... are you injured?)”

Leo activated the record sensor to begin translating the phonetic code.  It would take a few seconds, but then she’d be able to speak the native language as if born to it.  Two low beeps indicated the upload was complete.  Now she should be able to communicate with a minimal of confusion.

“Stop shaking me, Tarzan.”  Roughly, she yanked her arm out of his grasp.  “You stole my stuff!”

Erol’s spine tingled to hear her speak his tongue.  Her voice was still rough from swelling and disuse, but the low rumble of it went straight to his gut.                                          “I didn’t steal your…um…’‘stuff’ as you call it.”  He frowned at the accusation. 

“How is it that you speak my tongue?” he asked.

“Translation Unit.”  She answered absently.  “Well what do
you
call it when you take things that don’t belong to you?  On my planet it called stealing!” 

Leo took a step back.  She didn’t want his hands on her.  Unreasonably, his nearness caused her body to tingle, and when he’d grabbed her, it was like being hit by lightning… her heart began to race.

Dropping to his knees, he jerked the bottom of her flight pants up to examine her legs.

“What are you doing?  Let go!” she grabbed his shoulders for balance.  Even with him kneeling, she didn’t have far to bend.  “Get the hell OFF!” 

“Where are you injured, female?  Tell me, or I will strip you and search you myself.”  His grip tightened when she tried to yank way.

“What are you talking about?  Get OFF!”  Again, she tried to yank her leg away as he eyed her boots with determination.

“You jumped and squealed.  Where were you bitten?”  His frustration showed in his growled words.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!  Nothing bit me.  Now STOP!”  With a forceful jerk, she stumbled back.  “What the HELL!”  Glaring, she bent to pull the flight suit legs back down.  “What is WRONG with you?  You have absolutely NO respect for personal space!”

“You jumped and squ…”

“I was excited.”  She interrupted “Not bitten.”  Holding up her arm, she pointed to her wrist.  “I was excited about finding this. How I can
talk
to you now?”

Erol gathered the fruit as he got to his feet.  “Come.”  Striding past her, he piled the fruit beside the fire and replaced the items still strewn on the ground.  He knew she hadn’t moved, and wondered if she would run. 

Carefully, he pulled the meat away from the fire, and sliced off three thick portions to cool.  He hoped she wouldn’t run.  She wouldn’t get far before
he caught her, but he would rather not have to bind her for the remainder of their way to his home. 

“Come.  You need to eat.  The sun has made you very ill; we still have many hours before we reach my home.” 

Without looking at her, he indicated she should sit beside the piled fruit. 

A relieved sigh left him at the sound of her approach. 

Leo again felt her stomach cramp with hunger.  Goodness, she was starving.  If she weren’t so hungry, this would be the perfect opportunity to tuck tail, but who knew when she would be able to eat again?  It wasn’t like she knew what was edible around here anyway, so this would probably be the last meal she’d have in a while. 

The meat was roasted to a crisp golden brown on the outside, and moist and flavorful inside.  It tasted a lot like her sister’s fried chicken.  She ate the three pieces, greedily licking the remaining oils off her fingers.  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had anything that tasted so good.  She mostly ate the synth-protein rations while on ship, and they had very little flavor, if any.   

She watched him remove a knife, about eight inches long, from a sheath on his thigh and cleanly hack several of the strange fruit in half.  They were radish-shaped, but without the leafy tops, and were a dark brown color with faint yellow lines.  They didn’t look at all appealing.  Standing, she stretched her arms above her head to work out some of the kinks.

“Is there any water?”

“Drink.” he handed her one of the fruit.  The scent was slightly tangy, but not unpleasant.

Wrinkling her nose, she tried to hand it back.  “No thank you.  I just want water.”

“Water is scarce here.  The juice of the vesi fruit will sustain you.”  Lifting one to his lips, he demonstrated how to drink without spilling.

After the first hesitant sip, Leo quickly drained the rest.  Before she could lament its loss, a second was pressed to her hand, and she quickly drained that while she watched him pack away what was left, and carefully cover the fire with dirt.  Surprisingly, it didn’t taste as bad as it looked.  It definitely wasn’t water, but it was cool and refreshing.

CHAPTER FOUR

By the position of the sun and moon, Erol knew there were at most five hours left before moon cover.  “We must go.” 

Though they were closer to his home, it was more dangerous for her here.  The cooler areas were more heavily populated, with many clans making their homes within a mile or two of each other.  They were much more likely to come across other males before reaching his home.  Once the moon covered, it would be harder to protect her with so many places for others to hide in wait.               

Standing, he settled his
borża
over his shoulder.  “Come, female…we must go.”

“I don’t think so, Tarzan.” 

Climbing to her feet, Leo brushed imaginary dirt from her legs. 
Here we go…
she thought.  It was time for her to ‘assert her authority’.  “I don’t know where we are, but I need to stay as close to where my pod landed as possible.  You can’t just kidnap me.” 

The farther away she went, the less likely they would find her when the Recovery and Retrieval Team arrived.  She could picture her sister’s face when she found out that her distress signal had activated.  She wouldn’t send another team.  She would come herself.  As Lead Recovery and Retrieval Officer, she was the one who assigned teams, and she would come any distance to make sure that Leo’Nya was recovered.  Her sister would never stop searching, but why be more difficult to find?

“I don’t know what is this ‘kidnapping’…but you will not return to your transport vessel.”  As he spoke, he advanced.  He could see she wouldn’t come willingly.

“Kidnapping…to force someone to go with you against their own desires…”  She pointed to herself.  “I would be the one you forced against her desires.”

She backed up towards the edge of the clearing slowly. Obviously this was not someone used to hearing the word ‘No’.  She’d have to outrun him; hopefully she could lose him in the dense vegetation behind her.  She’d have to shake him before trying to cross back over that dessert.  His legs were way longer than hers, so there was no way she was going to beat him in a foot race.  She again took note of the chiseled perfection of his body, and a shiver raced her spine as she remembered how good it’d felt to be pressed against the softly hard warmth of his chest as he’d carried her.

“This place is unsafe, female…we cannot linger.”  He was almost within striking distance and continued to steadily advance.

“I’m not planning on…um…lingering…Tarzan.”  She edged farther back.  “I’m returning to my…uh….transport vessel.”

“You will come freely, or I will bind you…but you
will
come.”

Erol stopped.  Only a few feet separated them; if she continued to retreat, she’d be consumed by the vegetation.  She wouldn’t be able to escape him; her scent was such that he could track her for miles, but he’d waste precious time catching her. 

Ok.  So he reeeally wasn’t used to the word NO.

Spinning, she got less than three feet before she was slammed with a huge wall of solid muscle. 

Damn he’s fast
…she thought as she began to fall. 

Bracing, she expected to feel all of his considerable weight smash her to the ground.  He had her by a good 100 pounds.  There was no way she was walking away from this without at least a few cracked, if not broken, ribs. 

Twisting, Erol landed on his back and shoulders, taking the brunt of the impact. 
Mothers Breath…she’s fast…
a few more feet and he’d have lost her. 

Taking her wrists in one hand, he used the long leather strip from his hair to bind them together.  He didn’t have anything for her feet, but at least her balance and speed would be compromised if she tried to run again.  

In one fluid movement, he went from lying to standing with Leo still held snuggly in front of him.  She kicked, yelled, and tried to head butt him, all with no success.  He dragged her back to where he’d dropped his
borża
, scooped it up, and flung it carelessly over his shoulder. 

“Will you walk, or must I carry you?” 

Crossing his arms, Erol moved closer, using his size to intimidate.  Usually he wouldn’t want her to fear him; but if it’d make her more malleable, so be it.  Taking her silence as refusal, he bent to press his shoulder to her stomach, lifted her to draped over his shoulder, and wrapped his arm firmly across her thighs.  Time to go.

Good God, her head hurt.  Time…and the miles seemed to drag on as she hung suspended over his shoulder.  Every drop of blood in her body was pooled in her head, and the resulting headache was ridiculous.  She’d long since given up on trying to wiggle free. So far, her only reward for that had been,  a stinging slap to her extremely vulnerable backside. 

After hours of cursing and yelling, her throat was too dry to continue, so she’d resigned herself to just dangle until he put her down.  The constant grind of his shoulder into her stomach made her dangerously nauseous, and it took everything in her not to puke down his back—not that she’d mind covering him in puke, but the way she was swaying¸ some was guaranteed to make an exit through her nose.  No matter what planet you were on, that was soooo not a sexy look. 

The swaying abruptly stopped, and she ground her teeth.  Bending, he slid her onto her feet, gripping her arm to steady her.  Dizziness consumed her as blood poured back into her body; again, she fought waves of nausea.  She glanced up to see him scan the surrounding area.  They were in a large copse dense with towering vegetation.  The odd birdcalls and buzzing that had been background noise for the last few hours was absent.  Silent tension weighted the air: the calm before a storm.  Leo looked with curiosity at the male beside her.  His body was perfectly still as his eyes continued to scan. 

Using her bound wrists, Erol slowly placed his body before his female’s.  He couldn’t see anything, but his instincts and the quiet told him that they were no longer alone.  He backed her into a wedge of closely growing
Aħdar Injam
trees.  They grew thick in this area, sprouting in root networks of threes and fours.  The bark was copious, almost impenetrable. 

He angled his body to make it impossible for her to exit or for anyone to enter, effectively trapping her at his back and ensuring that nothing and no one reached her.  His body began to phase.  His heart slowed to a soft, almost imperceptible thump; his body relaxed; his muscles loosened.  Sharp fangs slid from his gums.  His eyes shifted; their grey-white color now a deep crimson.  His skin, smooth no longer, showed raised leathery scale- like protrusions, the creamy brown color fading to a yellow-green, matching the surrounding vegetation.  Armored plates extended from his forehead to protect his nose and eyes.  Long curving claws grew from his hands and feet. 

Out of the dense growth burst five fully phased males, two with scales dark emerald in color, attesting to their recent maturity.  Two others wore a yellow-green color identical to Erol’s, while the last wore a color almost completely yellow.  This was the eldest.  As a warrior seasoned, less green showed when he phased until there was a complete absence.

With a hissing growl, they attacked.  Erol slashed with his
Sikkina
as the younger two pounced.  They were careless in their attack, leaving their vulnerable undersides exposed.  Bowels spilled as he ripped through the tender flesh of one.  He felt a sharp sting as a blade entered his right thigh.  He opened the throat of one and watched as thick red-black blood poured down his chest and onto the ground.  Mercilessly, he slashed and clawed, jaws snapping at anything within reach until only two of the males remained. 

Erol watched as they spread to either side of him.  Their rapid breathing and slowed reactions meant that they were tired, but no more so than he.  His own breathing now shallow; he felt his energy drain with the slow trickle of blood from the wound in his thigh.  Both attacked.  Using his
Sikkina
, he slashed down, catching the closest across the face and removing an eye.  The male howled, and backing away, tried to cover the empty, bleeding socket.  Erol felt a wrenching tear when a blade entered his side.  As it pulled free, a gush of warm wetness poured down his leg.  Vision blurring, he slashed wildly.  A hissing yowl echoed, and he collapsed into darkness.

Avi’Nyla stared restlessly into the vast darkness.  It wasn’t really darkness, just the absence of light.  Or what most thought of as light.  Most panicked when they looked out into the complete openness of the universe, but for her it was just the opposite.  There was a calmness here that she didn’t find anywhere else.  That was one of the reasons she’d decided to join R&R.  That and her inability to fit in anywhere else. 

Closing her eyes, she let the soothingly melodic cadence of her sister’s voice wash over her.  The feed from the on-ship audio allowed her to hear every nuance, dip, and crackle.  For the thousandth time, she listened to the last file transmitted from the
Twin Encounter
.  She smiled faintly, remembering the fight that led to the naming of Leo’s small craft.  It felt like only yesterday that she’d been informed that her sister was to be admitted to the IAESC’s elite pilot program.  She’d been furious that Leo hadn’t told her sooner.  It was one of the only times that they’d been out of harmony.  Leo wanted so badly to be admitted to the program, and Avi was dead set against it.  She’d told her at the last minute, and only then because there wasn’t a choice.  The final entrance requirement was a release from liability waiver signed by the applicant’s next of kin, and without it, Leo wouldn’t have been able to complete the program.  The IAESC didn’t want to deal with disgruntled relatives if their loved one was injured, killed, or lost during training or deployment.  Avi couldn’t bear the thought of being separated for the long months that O-D pilots were deployed, and, initially, had refused to sign.

‘
Avi please…I know you’re scared…so am I, but I’ll always come back
.’

Leo understood, without being told, what Avi’s fears were; how could she not?  For as long as they could remember, it had always been the two of them.  Even when they were little, where there was Avi…so went Leo. 

They’d grown up hard and fast.  Childhood was something that other children had, just like clean clothes, enough food, and parents that gave a fuck.  All things Avi’Nyla and Leo’Nya Zesiro didn’t. But they had other things: like cold nights locked together in dark closets or worse…locked apart ; and parents who occasionally tried to pimp them for…whatever.  Taking a deep breath, Avi shook off the dark, consuming shadows of her past.  The best thing she’d ever done was get them away from that.  She wished now that she’d stuck to her guns and refused to sign the waiver, but she’d known that Leo would’ve been hurt and miserable, so she’d given in.  Now she stood staring out into an endless space.  Somewhere out in this beautiful vastness was Leo.