He hadn’t been able to stop himself from testing her female’s opening, though, just to find out how small and tight she really was. He only allowed the tip of his smallest finger to enter her, but it had been enough. She was soft and warm and oh so small and tight. How had she survived the Ganglians? At that thought, Wray tensed, his rage returning and as if sensing it, she whimpered. Immediately he regained his control.
Cleansing her hair, he watched in amazement as the dull, lifeless brown drifted away, revealing hair the color of living fire. Was that why the Ganglians had taken her? Because of its color? He had never seen hair like it before. He had read about it in the stories of the ancient ones, but he had always believed it to be a myth.
Every known species had some trait that revealed their species. For Tornians, it was their hair color, for while their skin tone could vary, their hair was always black. The Ganglians were always completely covered with hair and had an offensive odor. While the Kaliszians were similar to Tornians, they only had a thick strip of hair that ran along the center of their heads. Their position in their society displayed by the beads they wove into it. Was it the same for her species, did they all have hair of flame and eyes of green or did something else unite them?
After making sure her hair was clean, he removed every speck of Ganglian grime. Wray had removed them from the warm pool of water, quickly drying her and covering her again with his shirt before he did something that would be unforgivable.
Returning to the outer room, he sat holding her securely in his lap and tried to ignore the throbbing of his shaft tried to ignore his desire to Join with her, to release inside her and have it take root.
Would it? Would she be compatible with him? Her size said no but he discovered nothing truly different between her and Tornian females when he cleansed her. In fact, if her survival was any indication, she was more resilient than a Tornian female. Could she be what saved his people or would she be what finally broke them?
Disgusted with himself, Wray let his head fall back, thumping it against the wall. Goddess, he was a selfish bastard. Not two days ago, this female was being abused by the Ganglians and here he was wondering if she would be able Join with one of his warriors... no… not with one of his warriors, but with him! He truly was selfish for he had offspring so others would need her more.
Wray forced himself to relax when she began to whimper. How she seemed to sense when he was upset he did not know. Maybe it was the tensing of his muscles, or the low growl, he had been unable to contain, maybe it was just the way of her species. He wished he could talk to her and find out.
Talk to her... Wray shook his head in disbelief. Tornian males didn’t talk to their female, not as they did to males. They conversed with a female. She told the male what she wanted and the male told her she would have it. That was as far as it went.
Yes, he and Adana had ‘talked’ more, but that was only because she was his Empress and would never leave him. Something told him this female would demand more. This time when Wray leaned his head back, it was to rest, all the while making sure the female was secure in his arms.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Kim didn’t want to leave. She didn’t know where she was, but she knew it was better than where she had been. This darkness was different… it was warm and comforting, she felt safe here. The other had been… no... she wouldn’t go back there. She would stay here, where every touch was gentle, every word was soft and every sound was... a snore?
Frowning, she tried to ignore the sound, but it kept getting louder. What was that? Why wouldn’t it stop? It jarred her from the security of the darkness, reawakening her mind and senses, so she realized she was lying on something that while hard was still warm and giving. It moved, it vibrated, it smelled… nice, nothing like stinky... Kim instantly jerked awake and froze as it all came rushing back to her. She didn’t want stinky bastard to know she was awake. If he knew, he would hurt her again. Suddenly it dawned on her that it wasn’t stinky bastard holding her, he never held her, he'd just raped her.
Carefully, she lifted her head and saw... what… who... who... was this.... The rumbling sound that had woken her was coming from a massive chest that was covered with so many muscles that they bulged even though the guy was asleep. Looking up further, she found broad shoulders and thickly muscled arms that were currently wrapped around her, holding her securely in his lap.
Trying not to panic, her eyes continued their journey upward and discovered the unusual features of a man. His head was tipped back against the wall, his eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly open, revealing long white teeth, and he was snoring.
He seemed familiar to her for some reason. Why? Shaking the impossibility away, she carefully shifted away from him ever so slightly and his arms instantly tightened around her as his snoring turned into a low growl.
She screamed.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Wray jerked awake hearing the female's scream. What was wrong? His arms immediately tightened protectively around her as he stood, his eyes flying around the cave, searching for the threat. Suddenly it was as if he was holding a wild termagant in his arms as she kicked, bit and scratched at him.
Stunned by her attack, Wray instantly released her then cringed as she landed on her ass, hard. Reaching down to help her, she screamed again and crawled backwards away from him, her eyes never leaving him. She didn’t stop until she ran into a wall where she quickly sprang to her feet.
"Easy, little one." He said softly and raised his hands in a non-threatening manner as he prayed to the Goddess that the educator had worked.
"You stay away from me!" The female ordered.
"I mean you no harm." He told her, grateful they could understand each other.
"Yeah, right." She said sarcastically, her eyes moving quickly around the cave, searching for more threats.
"I tell you truth." Wray frowned when she didn’t immediately believe him. "We are alone here, no one will harm you." He saw her eyes move once again to the opening of the cave, then back to him, when she tensed, he knew exactly what she was going to do.
"No!" He bellowed moving to intercept her.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Kim's eyes never left the huge man as she crab-crawled away from him. When she ran into a wall, she jumped to her feet, frantically taking in her surroundings. She seemed to be in some type of cave.
'How the hell had she gotten here?' She wondered as her eyes flew back to the man who was frowning at her. To his right there seemed to be an entrance. She didn’t know what was outside, but she knew she had to get out, had to get away, it was the only way she would ever survive and she wanted to. Stinky bastard might have been bigger and stronger than her, but this guy... this guy made stinky bastard look puny... she would never survive him raping her. Outside was her only hope. Decision made, she sprinted for freedom.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Wray was surprised by her speed and caught her just a few feet from the entrance, pulling her tightly back against his chest.
“No!” He yelled again. “You will perish if you leave.”
“Let me go!” She cried out, struggling against his hold, but found her arms pinned against her sides so she couldn’t scratch him and with her back against his chest, she couldn’t bite him.
“No! I will not allow you to harm yourself.” When she continued to struggle, he shook her slightly. “Calm yourself! Look!” He turned so she could see through the opening.
Kim stilled, her eyes widening at what she saw. Outside, there was an eerie yellowish brown light, that seemed to be filled with what looked like blowing dust that sparkled.
“It is a Pontus ground storm.” He told her softly, his deep voice rumbling against her back. “Here on Pontus it contains alme. It can be deadly if too much is inhaled. It has been raging for two days.”
“Two days?” Kim whispered, looking up at him.
“Yes. I was barely able to get us here before it hit.” Wray found h
imself caught up in her green gaze.
“It’s just us?”
“Yes.” He watched her look back at the storm and wondered what she was thinking.
Kim watched the blowing dust for several more moments, trying to decide if she could believe him. It didn’t look that bad, but there was a lot of it. Then there were those larger pieces that would fly by occasionally, those would really hurt if they hit her and she could see how breathing could be a problem. He was right. She wouldn’t survive out there long.
“You can let go.” She said quietly, wriggling in his arms.
Wray frowned down at her. He didn’t want to let her go. He liked how she felt in his arms, against his body. He didn’t want her to try to flee again for if she did, she would be harmed and he couldn’t allow that. Turning so he was between her and the entrance, he let her slowly slide down his body, releasing her only when she was steady on her feet.
Kim quickly took several steps away from him and found she instantly missed his warmth. Turning, she watched him closely and realized he was doing the same thing to her. She could also see he was concerned that she would flee into the storm. Why?
“Who are you? Where am I? And how the hell did I get here?” Kim started firing questions at him.
“I am Wray. You are on Pontus and I brought you to this cave after we crashed.”
Kim’s mouth opened, then closed as she tried to process what he was saying. Finally, she settled on the one thing she immediately understood. “We crashed?”
“Yes. Our shuttle was attacked when we were transporting you from the Ganglian ship to the Searcher.”
“We! You said it was just us!” Her eyes immediately flew behind her, bracing for an attack.
“He is not here. My warrior was killed in the attack.”
“He’s dead?”
“Yes. I had to leave him in the shuttle.”
Kim looked at him for several moments and was shocked to realize she believed him. Someone he had known had died while he was saving her. “I’m sorry.”
Wray was shocked that she would concern herself with a warrior’s death. Males were expendable. Females were not. “He died an honorable death,” he informed her, “protecting a female. The Goddess will welcome him with loving arms.”
“You said you were transporting me.”
“Yes, our portable repair unit was able to heal most of your injuries, but I wanted to make sure, so I was taking you to the deep repair unit on the Searcher.”
“Who are you?” She asked again.
“I am Wray Vasteri. I am a Tornian Warrior.” He didn’t tell her he was also the Emperor. It would make things easier if he did, but for some reason he wanted to see how she would react to Wray, not the Emperor.
“Tornian…”
“Yes. What are you?” Wray finally got to ask the question he’d wanted answered since he’d first seen her.
“I… generally we call ourselves humans.”
“Humans?” Wray had never heard of them. “What do you mean generally?”
“I… well, we are all humans, but since we live in different countries, we usually identify ourselves by that.”
Wray just looked at her, while he understood what she was saying it wasn’t the Tornian way. Yes, they would describe the specific area they were from but first and foremost, they were Tornian.
“You are called Wray?”
“Yes and you are?” he asked the next question he’d wanted to know.
“My name is Kim, Kim Teel.”
“Kimkimteel.” He repeated.
“No!” The strength of her denial surprised him. “Listen. My name, first name is Kim, like yours is Wray. My last name is Teel, like yours, is Vasteri. Understand?”
Wray didn’t appreciate her talking to him as if he were an untrained Warrior and growled his displeasure.
“Don’t growl at me!” Kim stomped her foot. “It’s not my fault you were wrong!”
Wray looked at her in shock. No one spoke to the Emperor like that… but wait, she didn’t know he was the Emperor. Isn’t that what he wanted? To discover how she would see him?
“I apologize… Kim.” The foreign name somehow felt right crossing his lips. “I did not mean to upset you. I have never met a… human before."
"You haven’t?” She asked, not knowing if she should be happy or sad about that.
“No. What planet do you claim?”
“Claim?” It took her a moment to realize what he was asking. “Earth. We call our planet Earth.”
“Earth….” Wray thought about the name, searched his memory and could find nothing that was even close. He was about to question her further when an especially strong gust of wind blew into the chamber. “We need to move back to where we were. It will protect us from the storm.” He stepped towards her, gesturing to where they had been.
Kim quickly stepped back, keeping her distance and tried to decide what she should do. Did she believe him? Trust him?
“Please, Kim.” Wray was surprised at how much it hurt to have her step away from him and found he wasn’t above begging, not if it kept her safe. “It is why I chose this spot. It protects us from the worst of the storm. I would never harm you.”
Slowly, Kim realized she had no other choice but to trust him… at least for now and backed into the other room.
“There is food in the bag next to the rock." Wray’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Food?" Kim's eyes immediately flew to the bag hungrily. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten; neither could her stomach as it rumbled loudly.
"Yes, it’s just nutrient bars, but it is something." Wray heard her stomach rumble and knew she had to be starving, he was.
Watching him closely, Kim slowly moved towards the bag, still unsure just how far she could trust him. The cramping in her stomach had her quickly reaching down into the bag, pulling out a foil wrapped package.
"Sit, Kim." Wray gestured to the rock and watched as the bar slipped from her hand when he took a step towards her. "I will not harm you." He tried to reassure her. "Please sit, you are still recovering from the Ganglian attack and are weak from hunger.” Slowly he picked up the bar, handed it back to her then took several steps back.
"Ganglian?" She questioned, but slowly sat, her knuckles white around the bar. “You said that word before.”
"Yes, they are the species we found you with. Tear it at the top." Wray gestured to the bar, she held so tightly and watched silently as she struggled with it. "Let me help." He said softly and stretched out his hand, but moved no closer, knowing she needed to come to him.
Kim looked at him, her mind racing. Would he give it back?
He had before.
She didn't really know him.
But she trusted him.
Why?
Wray watched every thought as it passed across her face. Goddess she had such an expressive face. He could tell she was afraid, knew she had to be confused and yet she didn’t break. It made him want to pull her close, made him want to comfort and protect her even more, but he knew he couldn't, not yet.
"It will be alright Kim." He said softly. "I promise I will give it back and while you eat, I will tell what I know." He saw when she reached her decision and ever so slowly, she put the bar in his outstretched hand before quickly jerking hers back.
"These can be tricky sometimes." He said, trying to ease her fear while hiding his relief that she would allow him to help her. Quickly he tore open the wrapper and the smell had his own stomach rumbling, reminding him that he hadn't taken any nourishment since they crashed. Ignoring it, he handed the bar back to her. He was male. His needs would always come second to that of a female.
Kim silently watched as he easily ripped open the package, heard his stomach rumble before he handed it back. Slowly she took the now unwrapped bar from him. "When did you last eat?" She found herself asking.
"That is unimportant." Wray said dismissively. “Eat.” He gestured to the bar, but to his
shock instead of doing as he ordered, she broke the bar in two, holding half of it out to him. Why would she do that? "That is for you." He told her gruffly.
"We'll share." She said and for the first time Wray glimpsed what had helped her survive the Ganglians... stubbornness. Slowly, making sure not to startle her, he took the bar.
“Thank you.”
Nodding, Kim forced herself to take only a small bite of her half, ignoring the urge to stuff the whole thing in at once. It was a little dry, a little salty, but also a little sweet in a maple bacon sort of way. Nothing had ever tasted so good.
"Ganglian is the name of the species that we found you with." He told her as they ate.
"Those stinky, hairy bastards are called Ganglians?" Kim asked after she swallowed, a rule her mother had drilled into her about not talking with your mouth full still worked, even here.
"Yes." Wray couldn’t help but grin at her accurate description of the Ganglians. It faded quickly when he remembered why she was so accurate. "There is water in the container next to you." He gestured to the other side of the rock and the pouch he had refilled. Wray watched her closely as she ate; worried she would be unable to tolerate Tornian food. Nutrient bars weren't known for their tastiness, they were meant for a warrior's survival in extreme conditions. He had never heard of a female eating one.
Green eyes looked from him to the container on the floor before she leaned down and picked it up. It reminded her of those refillable water pouches runners used back on Earth.
He was about to tell her how to open it when she figured it by herself and took a cautious drink. After several small sips of the cool liquid, she handed it to him.
“Do you want more to eat?” he asked after he drank, handing it back to her.
“There’s enough?” she asked hopefully and saw Wray hesitate.
“For you there is.” he told her.
Kim gave him a considering look. “Why just for me?”
“You are female. I am male.” he stated as if that explained it all.