She didn’t remind him she couldn’t understand him—she knew the gist of what he had said. He was assuring her it was safe. The transport didn’t have windows so she didn’t get to see anything until it sat down with a small bump. Ral unfastened them from the seat and took her hand to lead her out.
She knew who Ral’s father and brothers were immediately. Ral’s father looked so much like Ral that she didn’t need introduced to know his identity. The four younger men who surrounded their father shared a strong family resemblance. Ral kept hold of her hand until he reached out to his father. Ral dropped Ariel’s hand to grip the older man in a bear hug.
Ariel didn’t move an inch as she watched Ral hug each of his family members. The men looked really happy to have him back. One of Ral’s brothers turned his attention to Ariel. He frowned and his eyes flew to Ral.
“What is she?”
Ral pulled back from his brother’s embrace. He turned, smiling, and reached for Ariel. “This is Ariel. I am bound to her.”
The old man roared—Ral’s father looked furious. Ariel gasped as she almost fell on her ass when she stumbled back to distance herself from the man. Ral caught her around her waist and hauled her against his body. He snarled at his father.
“What was that for?”
“You are not bound to that.” Ral’s father snarled back.
Ral’s mouth tightened into a grim line. “She’s from Earth. She’s human. She was taken from her planet by the Anzons who stole our people. I have bound to her. She is mine. Never roar at her again, Father.”
“She’s small and weak. Look at her skin. It is pale.”
Hyvin Berrr glared at Ariel as he spoke. If looks could kill she knew she’d be taking her last breath. This man ruled Zorn according to Ral. If the older man wanted her dead she had a sinking feeling she wouldn’t have much time left to live.
“She is brave and beautiful. I do not care what you think. I have bound her.” Ral snarled the words at his father. His body was tense and his hold on Ariel was almost bruising. “She is mine and I will not let her be taken from me.”
His father shot a vicious look at Ariel. “What kind of hold does she have on you?” He turned his head to stare at a Zorn woman. “Take her to medical. I want to know if she is doing something to my son to make him lose his head.”
Ral growled. “No.”
Argernon got between father and brother. “Let her be examined. You will be at her side, Ral. It will make Father see she has not bewitched you with her other-world ways. You can also have her translator evaluated to see if it can be tuned so others besides you can understand her.”
Ral was breathing hard and he was obviously still furious. He jerked a nod at Argernon. His eyes shot to his father. “If you try to take her from me I will take that ship in space and we will go to her world. You will lose me forever.”
Ral grabbed Ariel’s hand and stormed away. She had to run to keep up with his longer strides. Ariel got one glimpse of Hyvin Berrr’s furious face before he was out of sight. They followed the Zorn woman toward medical.
Ariel eyed her surroundings. It was beautiful. The buildings were mostly black and the sky had a red tint to it, reminding Ariel of a sunset at home, only all of the sky was a light red. The dirt was a dark red and the grass purple. She walked over a small bridge and paused.
Ral stopped with her. He followed the direction of her eyes. “What is it?”
“Your water is a dark purple.”
“What color is water on your planet?”
“Clear mostly but our oceans are blue.”
He rubbed her hand in his. “It sounds nice.”
“I’m just glad I can breathe. I was worried about that.”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t. We breathe the same. Let’s go.”
The Zorn woman was waiting. Her eyes were fixed on Ariel. The woman looked at her like she was a bug. Ariel sighed. She spoke softly.
“I don’t think your people like me.”
“You look different but you are beautiful to the eye.”
She met his eyes. “You think so.”
“They think so as well. You are just different and they haven’t seen such pale skin before.”
“What is she saying?” the Zorn woman asked softly.
Ral turned his attention on the woman. “She thinks you don’t like her. I was explaining that you are just curious.”
The woman looked at Ariel and nodded. “She can understand us but I cannot understand her. She speaks so softly and strangely but it is pleasant to the ear.”
“We figured that out.” Ral chuckled.
Inside the medical building they were taken to the second floor. The woman smiled at Ariel. It was a forced smile in Ariel’s opinion.
“I am a healer and a scientist. Do you understand me? I am Ahhu.”
Ariel nodded.
The woman looked relieved. She eyed Ral. “Will you stay so you can translate?”
“I will not leave my Ariel’s side.”
“Can you have her remove her clothing? I would like to examine her.”
Ariel tensed. “Now I feel like a bug.”
“What is that?” Ral arched his eyebrow.
She met his curious gaze. “Like a science experiment. Is that a better description?”
Ral pulled her into his arms to give her a hug. “I know this is difficult for you, Ariel. I am sorry.”
She nodded into his chest and let him comfort her for a moment. Ariel pulled back. “It’s all right.” She removed her clothing. Ahhu stared at her with open curiosity. Ariel flushed and stood as the woman’s gaze raked over every inch of her.
“You have bred her.” Ahhu glanced at Ral. “Correct?”
“Yes. I told you I bound her.”
Ahhu nodded. “How is she physically different from our women?”
“Besides her obvious looks?” Ral growled.
“Besides.”
“It’s all right,” Ariel sighed. “Don’t get mad.”
He was angry. Ariel could see it. Ral glared at the Zorn woman. “Her unis is in the front.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Her unis is in the front, exposed between her thighs when spread.”
The Zorn scientist’s eyes flew to Ariel. “May I please see this?”
Ariel knew Ahhu had to examine her, but she still felt embarrassment. She climbed on the exam table and spread her thighs, but she shut her eyes so she didn’t have to watch herself being stared at. When she felt the hand her eyes flew open and she started to jerk away. It was Ral touching her and she instantly relaxed. He spread her nether lips with his fingers to better expose her sex. Ral’s eyes locked with Ariel’s.
“Look but don’t touch her, Ahhu.” Ral warned. “You are making her uncomfortable and you will treat her with the respect of my bound woman.”
The woman dipped her head in a nod. “Of course, Argis Ral.”
Ariel saw Ahhu staring at every exposed inch of her. The woman reached for something. Ral growled. He looked furious.
“No.”
Ahhu froze. “I wanted to document it.”
“You will not take documentation of my woman’s sexuality to share with other scientists. Put that down now.” He snarled. “No other male sees my woman like this but me.”
Ahhu put the electronic device down. She moved closer to study Ariel. She was fascinated. “Her color is different. She’s pink.”
“She is softer inside too.” Ral released Ariel and slid his palm over her, cupping her mound to cover her sex. “You have seen enough.”
The woman backed up. “Can she enter your mind? Any signs of abilities like that?”
“No.” Ral’s hand left her mound to help her sit up. He handed her clothes back and started to help her dress. “She has no abilities that could control me.”
Ahhu was frowning. “Then why did you bound to her?”
Ral lifted Ariel up off the table to help her put on her pants. “Seeing her was enou
gh. I was drawn to her fragile beauty. She smelled good and I wanted her intensely. When we were alone I got to know her very well. I knew she was mine to keep. I knew she was the woman I wanted bound to.”
The scientist studied Ral. “She pleases you?”
Ral nodded. Now that Ariel was dressed Ral’s anger seemed to dissipate. “More than I have ever been pleased in my life.” He looked down at Ariel. “Let her look at your implant.” He eyed Ahhu. “Can you download the program and load her language into our translators so all Zorn can understand her? How long will that take?”
Ahhu walked to a wall and got another device. She walked to Ariel. “Tell her to sit.”
Ariel sat. “Please remind her that I can understand her.”
Ral chuckled. “She can understand you, Ahhu. You just can’t understand her.”
The woman ran the device over the wrong ear. Ariel pointed. “This one.”
The woman moved and ran it over the right ear. The woman read the small screen and frowned. She looked at Ral. “Let me see you.”
Ahhu scanned both ears on Ral and frowned. “They put a new implant in your left ear, Argis Ral. I would like to remove the other-world implant from you. We do not know what their technology can do. It could be dangerous.”
“No. If you do I could not understand Ariel.”
“Your father is going to order all of the implants removed from the other world. We do not know if they contain tracking devices or even harmful tendencies. They could release poison.”
“What are the chances?”
The woman hesitated. “Good. Remember history.”
Ariel frowned. She met Ral’s eyes. “We won’t be able to able to understand each other, will we?”
“No. The Zorn translators obviously don’t know your language or they’d be able to understand you.”
“At least let us remove them for testing. We might be able to download their program to adapt it to our translators,” Ahhu said softly.
Ral frowned. “Remove the other implants from our people and test those.”
“They all must be removed, Argis Ral. I swear to you that I will work very hard to find the way for our translators to work for your bound woman.”
Ral growled. There was no translation. “Leave us and lock the door. We need some time together.”
Ahhu nodded. “The other Zorn recovered are coming in right now. I’ll remove their implants first.” She left the room.
Ral met Ariel’s eyes. “We need to do this. She could be right. We have had something like this happen before to some of our warriors who were captured by other world species. They were given alien implants that released poison that killed them all. It happened days after they escaped.”
“But we’ve been traveling for three weeks.”
“We have been aboard their ship. We are out of range of any signal it could have sent out now that we are on the planet. It is safer if we do this. I won’t take the risk with your life or mine.”
“I understand.”
Ral reached for her. “It doesn’t matter if we can talk or not.” He pulled her into his arms. “We know how it is between us.”
“We do.”
“I will take care of you. It shouldn’t be too difficult for them to get a working translator. We have the Anzons ship as well with their programs. We’ll find your language and work it into our translators. We can do this together, Ariel.”
“We can do this,” she echoed, hoping they were both right.
“It won’t be long before they figure it out.”
Ariel stared up into his eyes and cupped his face with her hands. “I love you.” One of her hands lowered from his face to his heart. “I love you so much, Ral.” She touched his chest. She wasn’t sure his heart was where she touched but she’d heard a thump there under her ear when they slept. “My heart to yours.”
Ral smiled. “I am in love with you too, Ariel.”
She forced a smile that she didn’t feel. She was a little afraid of not being able to talk to Ral for a few days. Ariel wondered if Ral was putting up a brave front as well. She just had to have some faith that they’d make it work somehow.
“Just don’t feed me hot things that make my mouth burn. I won’t be able to understand you when you describe my food choices this time.”
He laughed. “I’ll remember. I’ll take good care of you.”
Chapter Seven
Ariel hated not being able to talk to Ral. After their implants had been removed, he had led her outside where a driver and vehicle waited. They’d left the city for a forested area. Ral’s home was at the edge of a village. Other large homes were within sight, but they were distant enough that there was privacy.
Ral had a beautiful home, though Zorn homes were not like houses back on Earth. Zorn homes were made out of a pretty red stone. The walls were smooth to the touch as if they had been polished. They had wood furniture but the colors didn’t come from any type of trees Arial had ever seen—shades of red and deep purples, some were even black. The cloth material on the couches and on the Zorn clothing was thick, soft cotton-like blends.
Ral gave Ariel a tour of each room in his house. He smiled at her as he led her to a large bedroom last. He softly growled at her as he swept her into his arms, taking her to the bed. He growled at her again. She knew he was talking—it wasn’t just him growling at her—but she couldn’t understand him.
Their eyes met as Ral pinned her under him. He touched her throat with his finger and ran it up to her mouth. He growled at her.
“Do you want to hear what I sound like when I talk without the translator on?”
Nodding his head, Ral grinned. He either understood what she was asking or maybe he just wanted to encourage her to keep speaking.
“I love your house. It’s bigger than I thought it would be and I love the darker tones. I never really enjoyed the color red or thought there were so many shades of red but there are. I love them. I also never thought purple would be in a straight man’s home, but we’re not on Earth. Purple definitely is sexy around a hunk like you.”
Ral chuckled. No translation was needed for that sound. His amazing eyes sparkled with amusement as his head lowered. He brushed his lips over hers. Ariel wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. She was addicted to sex with the man since she’d met him. They had no problem communicating when they touched. They both knew exactly what they were saying as the kiss deepened. They wanted each other.
A loud buzz sounded. Ral’s body tensed. He broke the kiss, reluctantly pulling his mouth from hers. He snarled something as he climbed off her. He eyed her body with a long hungry look. Holding his hand palm out to her, he turned around walking out of the bedroom. She stayed in bed like his hand indicated.
Minutes passed until Ariel heard a loud sound. It sounded like glass smashing. Snarls were the next thing she heard. She jumped off the bed to run out of the bedroom. Panic washed over her—something was wrong. She came to a halt as she saw the living room.
Ral was facing off with a snarling Zorn woman. The female was tall and muscular. She was attractive. Dark brown hair flowed down her back to her knees. Much of her athletic body was showing in the dress she wore, low cut at her breasts and raised high on her shapely legs. Both of them were oblivious to Ariel.
The woman grabbed Ral’s arm with a snarl. He slapped her hand away, snarling something back at her that didn’t sound nice. The woman let her hand drop. They glared at each other. The woman’s nostrils flared. She snapped her head in Ariel’s direction to glare at her. Ariel didn’t need a translator to understand the woman hated her. Rage was evident. The woman snarled and took a step in Ariel’s direction.
Ral moved in the woman’s path to Ariel. He snarled at the woman for a while. Ariel got that he was angry from his tone. Ariel couldn’t see the woman anymore with Ral’s body between them but when he stopped snarling the woman snarled back. They were obviously arguing. Ral pointed to the front door and snarled.
&nb
sp; Nope, Ariel thought. She didn’t need a translation. The woman was furious that Ral was with her and he wanted the woman to leave. The woman didn’t leave. Instead she lunged at Ral. He took a step back when the woman attacked him and grabbed the fists pelting him. He threw the woman away from him and she landed hard on her ass by the door. Ral snarled again, pointing at the front door.
Ariel could see her now. The woman shot her a glare as she softly growled. She got to her knees and reached for her hem. In shock, Ariel saw the woman yank the dress over her head. It looked like Zorn women didn’t wear undergarments because the woman was now completely naked.
Zorn women weren’t that different. Her breast looked the same but between her legs was slightly different. The woman obviously didn’t own a much-needed razor. It put a new spin on the term bush. The woman’s eyes locked on Ral as she dropped to her hands and knees. She softly growled at him, lowering her head, her arms bent at the elbows. She lowered her breasts to the floor and it put her ass high in the air as she spread her thighs about a foot apart.
“Oh hell no,” Ariel gasped. She was shocked but again she didn’t need a translator. The woman was offering herself sexually to Ral.
Ral turned to frown at Ariel. She met his eyes. He pointed to the bedroom. Pain shot through Ariel hard. Was he going to accept the bitch’s offer? He wanted Ariel to return to their room. That was clear. She shook her head no at him. She felt a burst of emotions—jealousy and hurt were the strongest initial feelings. Anger and shock came in at a close second. Ral took a deep breath. He continued to frown at Ariel. He pointed again to the bedroom.
“Fuck you,” she said softly. She shook her head no, crossing her arms. “If you touch that bitch I’m out of here.”
Ariel hesitated and then pointed at the woman. She pointed at the door. She pointed at Ral and then showed him her hand. She pointed to him and then the woman. Then she pointed to herself and the door. She hoped he understood what she meant. She let her anger show. She growled at him.