Tempting Rever (5 page)

He left her room, softly shutting the door behind him, leaving Brenda to sink onto her bed. The man was flat out sexy. She shut her eyes. Watching Ali tongue the guy had been fucking hot. She just wished she’d gotten to touch him.

Shaking her head, she was shocked at herself. She knew it was out of character for her but then again, she’d never met a guy as special as the tall Zorn man. Rever just screamed sex appeal, putting all kinds of naughty thoughts in her head. Then there was the sympathy factor she had going for him to consider. He had hooked up to a cold piece of work named Tina and Brenda felt damn bad for the guy. He had no idea what kind of woman Tina was but she knew Tina was going to be nothing but heartache for the guy.

23

Tempting Rever

Brenda had expected a village market to be just the way it sounded, thinking she’d see a bunch of people with carts selling their merchandise. Instead it looked similar to a bunch of outdoor stores selling everything from produce to high-end gadgets that she couldn’t begin to identify. There were more males than females, big men who dressed in uniforms or exercise wear. The women wore the long, loose tunics and seemed to shop together in groups.

Rever was dressed in a pair of leather pants that were identical to breeches from a pirate movie with a loose tank top barely covering his torso. His tan, muscular biceps kept drawing her attention as he walked her from vender to vender, touching things to show her. His head turned, those incredible eyes of his meeting hers, and he smiled.

Her heart pounded every time he flashed that sexy look her way.

“Red would look good on you with your white hair. Do you like this color?”

Tearing her gaze from his, she studied what he was touching, a pair of pants resembling the ones he wore, only in a smaller size. A grin split her face as joy hit her.

“Pants!”

He chuckled. “I noticed that you keep tugging at your dress often. Are you not comfortable bare beneath?”

“Not really. Every time there’s a breeze, well, hell. I don’t run around without panties.”

He blinked. “What?”

“Panties are thin fabric that covers my, um, lower half. They are comparable to what you wore last night only smaller and form fitting to a woman. Earth women wear them under their clothes to keep their…um… private girl parts covered.”

“Your pussy?”

She blushed a little more at this soft, husky tone for that part of her anatomy. “Yes.”

“Tina said to call it that but your cheeks turned pink. Did I pronounce it correctly?”

“Yes, you did.”

He nodded, turning his head to give his attention to the vender selling the clothing and made a hand motion. The vender nodded, wrapping the pants in a bag. Rever took her to a dozen more shops, picking out clothing for her, and then put everything together in a backpack he bought last. He shrugged it on his shoulders and gave Brenda a smile.

“Would you like to eat? I am in no hurry to return home just yet.” His smile died.

“My bound wished to come with us but after yesterday I refused her request because I don’t want to kill someone today. Yesterday she exposed her pussy to males here.

24

Tempting Rever

Doing that is an invitation for a male to mount her and I would have had to kill them if they’d tried. It was fortunate that they are aware of who I am so they backed off when I growled at them, realizing it would not be an easy battle to win. When she presented her pussy to them it was as if she told them she was unhappy as my woman and taunted them to challenge me to win her from me.”

“Did you explain that to Tina?”

Anger tightened the man’s features. “I did. She was amused.”

Brenda’s dislike of Tina rose to a new level of disgust. She’d heard the nasty woman going off early that morning but she hadn’t put in an appearance at breakfast. It had kind of been a blessing. Brenda followed the large man down the street to a food vender. The smell of cooked meat made her stomach grumble since she’d just picked at her breakfast hours earlier. She loved Zorn food and it smelled delicious. Rever turned his head, a grin curving his lips.

“You are hungry.”

“You heard that?”

He sat, motioning her to a chair. “I have good hearing.”

She sat down, carefully tucking her long shirt tightly around her thighs. She noticed men around them at other tables staring at her but she tried hard to ignore them even though she felt watched. Her full attention stayed on Rever while he removed the backpack, putting it on the other side of his chair. In less than a minute a younger Zorn male walked up to the table nodding at Rever.

“Argis, it is an honor for you to let us serve you. What do you wish?”

Rever smiled at the younger teenager. “Give us two of your cook specials with large mugs of red
veral
.”

“Of course, Argis.” The teen ducked his head before fleeing inside.

“What is
veral
?”

Rever grinned. “It is a good drink but sip it slowly or it will make your head spin.”

“That sounds similar to Earth’s version of beer or wine.”

He smiled at her. “How do you like Zorn?”

“So far I like it. It’s a lot different from Earth but I’m adjusting.”

His smile died. “I am sorry about Valho. He was a good warrior who would have made you happy as his bound.”

She shifted in her seat and kept her eyes locked with his. “Do you know his brother, Volder?”

“I know him.” Rever’s voice deepened slightly. “He is not like Valho. Volder is older and keeps in the company of only his warriors on his ship while Valho was more social with many people of Zorn, rarely leaving planet. Volder is probably lonely for female attention so you will be good company for him.”

“You don’t like him?” She caught a tone in his voice that implied it.

25

Tempting Rever

“I don’t dislike him but we are different. We are not friends.”

Something in Brenda’s gut tightened and dread spread throughout her. “Great. I’m to be given to this guy and I don’t even know anything about him.”

“He will care for you and you will be his bound and as such, it is his duty to assure your happiness. He would not be permitted to have a female if he was abusive. Females are a privilege in Zorn society. It is hard to explain but our history demands we protect our females and treat them well. If a male is found to be abusive he is stripped of the right to be responsible for them. At his age if there was a problem it would be known by now.”

That was somewhat comforting. Brenda nodded. “Thanks. I’m just nervous because I don’t know this guy at all and I’m going to be forced to marry him.”

“It is our way. It will work out.”

The teen returned carrying a large tray, setting down food and a drink in front of Rever first and then served Brenda. The boy didn’t even glance at her as he bowed low to Rever and left quickly. Brenda watched him go, her attention returning to Rever.

“They all bow to you.”

“My father leads Zorn. It is an issue of respect for my place in society and bowing to me in respect is my earned right.”

“Should I bow to you?”

A chuckle escaped him. “No. You are not Zorn. Our customs are not known to you and I don’t expect you to follow them. Eat. I want to get you home before the work day ends and the market floods with more males. You draw attention.” His voice lowered, his gaze turned to intently study the tables around them. “They all watch you.”

She couldn’t stop herself from taking a look, confirming that almost every male at all the tables around them seemed to be staring at her. She blushed, dropping her head quickly, and reached for her food. They didn’t use utensils so she ate with her fingers, mimicking Rever.

“I love this stuff.” She pointed to the strips of red meat.

He chuckled. “You are a good eater.”

She paused, looking at him. “I love food. You probably noticed that I’m a bit bigger than your Tina. She’s way thin and I’m considered a little overweight on my planet.”

“Overweight?”

“Not in good shape. I love to eat too much.”

“You look very attractive. No male would complain. If I wasn’t bound I would want you badly. Your body makes me want to touch you and explore how soft your skin is.”

The thought of him doing that made her jerk her gaze up to his face. He refused to look back at her though, suddenly very intent on his food. He finished eating first and stood up.

26

Tempting Rever

“Let’s get you home.” He reached down, grabbing the backpack, and just held it in his hand.

Brenda pushed away from the table, giving him a nod. A sudden sound made her turn around to see what the cause of it was. In horror she watched as hundreds of bowling ball-sized creatures with thick, dark brown hair and big, sharp teeth came rushing down the street. It looked as though a stampede of the frightening looking creatures were headed right for Brenda and Rever.

Those things bumped into Zorn people down the street, some of the rounded, hairy balls of fur jumped a good three feet to hit Zorn bodies, snapping sharp teeth at their prey. Pure terror flashed through Brenda as it sank in that they were being attacked by vicious animals. A scream caught in her throat. On instinct she turned, throwing her body at Rever’s, clutching at him.

Strong arms grabbed her. “It’s all right,” Rever rumbled. “They are just
Killis
.”

“Kill us?” She squeaked, feeling panic seize her.

The damn things were flowing forward, spreading wider down the street as more of them came running from behind a building at the end of the street. They were rushing right at her and Rever still, attacking anyone in their path, their bodies jumping up and slamming into people. She spun, looking for a place to flee but there was nowhere to go except the chair she’d vacated. Without thinking she jumped up on it and turned to scramble onto the tabletop to get higher away from the ground where those horrible furry little bodies swarmed.

Rever growled, grabbing Brenda around her hips with one of his arms. He jerked her against his body tightly in a heartbeat. “Calm. It is safe.”

She turned her head, watching the scary creatures all around them. They flooded the area around the table and chairs in the next second and one of them jumped, hit the side of the table she stood on and Brenda screamed. She was sure the terrifying creature was going to jump on the table and take a bite out of her with those sharp teeth.

Another scream tore from her when one landed on the table with her and hit her leg, swearing she felt it tear into her flesh as the rough textured fur scraped her knee.

A snarl tore from Rever when he totally jerked her off the table, moving quickly, and held her against his chest. She felt her body pressed tight against his larger frame, blinded by his long hair when her face ended up buried in his neck and shoulder area.

He moved quickly, running with her, to save her. Her arms ended up around his neck, clinging to him, and then he suddenly stopped. Her back hit a solid wall but it didn’t hurt.

“Calm,” Rever snarled. “You are safe and we are away from them.”

Brenda lifted and turned her head but didn’t release the tight hold she had on him around his neck. She peeked to see the street they’d been was now about half a block away. Furry round bodies were still flooding the street but they weren’t rushing down the alleyway following them, the stampede staying far from them. She knew that Rever had saved her and gotten her out of the path of those things.

27

Tempting Rever

His arms were around her waist, holding her hip to hip with his body and she also realized her legs were wrapped around him. In her terror she literally had latched onto the man with her legs and her arms. He had her against a wall of a building with his arms around her, his big body pinning her there and he was breathing a little hard. She was almost nose to nose with him as she turned her head, their gazes locking together.

She stared into his gorgeous, amazing eyes. The color of them was so bright blue that she couldn’t even think of anything to compare them to but almost glowing neon.

They were striking.

Rever took a calming breath and when he spoke, his voice was a soft rumble. “They were just
killis.
They are harmless and not dangerous to you. They enjoy brushing against warm bodies but they don’t bite or eat meat. They tend the vegetation in the cities. They are run through the streets to exercise them.”

Brenda’s heart was pounding. “What?”

“I should have warned you about them but I did not realize the time. You were in no danger.
Killis
are harmless. They run them in the streets twice a day to fuel their hunger for vegetation. They enjoy rubbing against our bodies and their teeth are sharp but they would never bite into flesh.
Killis
would lick you and massage their round bodies against your legs, being a very friendly species on our planet. Do you understand?”

She did.
Killis
were like little breathing Zorn lawn mowers that just looked terrifying to her alien self. A blush of embarrassment stained her cheeks as she realized that she’d flipped out over a harmless animal. She was locked around Rever’s body, her heart pounding in her chest, and she was staring into his eyes.

“Oh. I saw them coming and saw their sharp teeth, thinking they were attacking.”

A grin curved his lips. “I realized.”

“It’s not really funny. They are scary looking. It’s those big sharp teeth. Their bodies look scary too, all round, hairy and ugly.”

His chest rubbed against hers as he chuckled. “They are tiny.”

“They have big damn teeth.”

He chuckled again. “Are you well, Brenda? You still scent of terror.”

She nodded. “I guess I should let you go.”

He nodded. She eased her tight hold with her thighs around his waist where her legs were totally wrapped around his hips tightly. Her body slid a few inches down his and she suddenly gasped when her pussy came in contact with the front of Rever’s pants, unable to miss the noticeable bulge there. The hands around her waist tensed as she stared into his eyes while he stared back at her. His grin faded.