Captured: Warriors of Hir, Book 1 (7 page)

Seven

Ra’kur lifted her right off her feet, wrapping her in a bear hug, his face buried in her neck, and she could feel the trembling tension in his big body. She wound her arms around his neck and he nuzzled her throat, breathing in her scent as if it were the only thing in the universe that could comfort him.

“Yeah,” she whispered, stroking his black hair. “I was really scared too.”

He made a huffing sound and set her on her feet. He growled, his tone sharp, angry, his electric eyes and fangs flashing.

“Oh, let me guess.” Jenna put her hands on her hips. “You’re mad at me now
’cause
you were scared.”

Ra’kur gestured toward the front door, growling in his own language.

She couldn’t understand him of course but she was getting the gist just fine and she threw her hands out. “What do you want me to say? ‘I’m sorry’? A family friend—one armed with a
gun
, may I point out?—just showed up at the door. I couldn’t
not
let him in!”

He gave a snarl punctuated with finality and with heavy footfalls stalked off to the kitchen.

“Hey!” she cried, outraged.
Goddamn it, why do men always do that?
“You don’t just get to walk off in the middle of this!”

She arrived in the kitchen just in time for his annoyed
snorf
at seeing the pancakes he hadn’t finished in the trash, and then his gaze fell on his coffee cup. He picked it up and took a sniff.

He narrowed his eyes at her.

“Oh, come
on
! You didn’t even
like
—Yeah! He drank your damned coffee! It’s not like I
gave
it to him. Bill walked right in”—Jenna threw a wave at the swinging door and then at the cup Ra’kur held—“and there I was—holding a cup of coffee! Of
course
he thought it was for him, because no one else was supposed to
be
here!”

Ra’kur’s nostrils flared. He put the cup in the sink and folded his arms to glower down at her.

She glared right back.

Then she bit the inside of her cheek.

Finally, Jenna put her hand to her mouth but it didn’t do any good. She burst out laughing.

“Look at us; we’re arguing and we can’t even
talk
yet,” she said, putting her face in her hands for a moment and then flinging her hair back. “I can’t wait for the fights we’ll have when we can actually understand each other.”

He looked equal parts amused as if he caught the absurdity of the situation and offended as if he were still too mad to be conciliatory.

In the next moment he caught her face in his hands and rubbed his nose against hers. He caught her mouth in a light kiss but he didn’t start that rumbling-purr again.

Maybe he was worried Bill would come back.

He touched his forehead to hers. “Sssttaayy mmeee.”

She blinked. He hadn’t said a sentence, even a simple two-word one like that one, before.

“What? What did you say?”

“Jenna.” He held her face in his hands, his words rolling like soft thunder. “Stay
me
.”

“I’m sorry, Ra’kur.” She searched his eyes. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

He took her hand and pressed her palm to over his heart. “Jenna. Ra’kur. Stay
me
.”

“You’re asking me to stay with you? Is that what you mean? Or you noticed that I
did
stay with you?”

His frustration was evident and he looked pretty discouraged.

“It’s okay,” she said quietly. “Jenna stay.”

He gave a faint smile then, as if he knew this abbreviated language wasn’t what she would use either.

“Sorry about your breakfast,” she said with a nod toward the trash can.  “Can you hold out until lunch? I need to grab a shower and try to find my phone.”

He gave a regretful look at the lost pancakes but he let her lead him back to the bathroom. Ra’kur stuck his hand in the water when Jenna turned on the shower. He was busy spreading his fingers under the warm spray and missed her pulling off her boots and robe.

“’Scuse me,” she said, sliding past him.

He blinked at her as she stepped into the shower, his blue eyes flaring with interest and desire. She pulled the curtain partway closed, allowing him to see without completely soaking the rest of the bathroom. Jenna stepped into the water and tilted her head back to let the shower wet her hair.

She couldn’t help but smile at Ra’kur’s longing expression and held out her hand to him. “Want to join me? Best get in while the water’s good and hot.”

He hesitated, then glanced at the water running over her breasts.

“Come on, you don’t have any objection to getting wet, do you?”

He turned his head toward the door, sniffing, then threw her a hot smile.

“I guess that means Bill won’t be paying us another visit,” she said as he pulled his clothes off.

It was her first time seeing him like this, standing naked in the light of day. He was so beautifully male. He had to duck a little under the shower curtain but the ceiling over the shower was plenty high enough. She was now extra glad that when they made the addition to the house they’d kept the old-fashioned tub separate and added this large shower stall instead.

Still, there wasn’t a ton of room in here once you added a seven-foot-tall alien to it.

He blinked against the spray coming off her shoulders. She urged him to switch places with her so his back was to the water instead. By reaching around him while he ducked she managed to get his hair wet using the blue plastic cup she sometimes used to hold homemade hair conditioners. He watched as she poured shampoo into her palm and rubbed it between her hands. 

He bent obediently when she gestured so she could reach, his face close to hers as she washed his hair.

He was over a foot taller than she, heavily muscled, and all the while his alien eyes reflected innocent curiosity and complete trust. He held very still for her ministrations, closing his eyes briefly, and made a rumbling sound of pleasure as she massaged the shampoo into his scalp.

She rinsed his hair, careful to keep the soap out of his eyes and followed with conditioner just in the ends of his hair. 

Jenna lathered up the soap. “Close your eyes.”

He tilted his head and she held two fingers up toward her own eyes then closed them to demonstrate what she wanted. As soon as his eyes were shut she started soaping his face.

He tensed a bit when she first touched him but soon relaxed. His skin was smooth, the bones and ridges of his forehead very different from a human’s, but his cheekbones and jaw felt similar. She still didn’t feel any stubble on his face or neck. He had light hair on his chest and very little hair below.

Maybe they just don’t get beards.

She rinsed his face and he shook his head a little, blinking against some of the spray in his eyes.

She moved with the soap over his neck and chest, over the taut muscles of his belly, and then, with a mischievous grin, lower still. He was already aroused and his gaze went hot, his rumbling starting even before she wrapped her fingers around his shaft. His mouth parted in a half-moan half-purr as she stroked him with soapy hands. His hands clasped her shoulders, his cock growing harder still in her grasp. He rumbled deeper, his breath picking up speed, and he pressed his shaft into her hands. She cupped him where he was soft and a few more strokes had him coming in hot spurts against her belly.

He was still gripping her shoulders, gasping with his release. She slid from under his hand and went on tiptoe to press a kiss to his mouth. He gave a clumsy nose rub in return and she noticed his legs were shaking. She got another lather and finished washing him, even his feet, an action that really had his expression delighted.

He caught her in a hug and dropped a kiss to her wet hair.  Then with an absorbed, focused expression he repaid her in kind.

He copied her actions, massaging the shampoo into her scalp and carefully shielding her eyes to keep any soap from getting into them while he rinsed. Ra’kur washed her face exactly as she had his, even lightly exploring the bones of her face as she did, careful to rinse her face of water as she had his before moving lower. Slippery with soap his hands ran over her breasts and dipped into her waist. Urging her legs apart, he washed there too and after a moment Jenna caught his hand.

“Let’s get rid of the soap first,” she said breathlessly and when she’d rinsed his hands urged him back to what he’d been doing. His fingers were at her cleft, already stroking her, and Jenna closed her eyes.

He bent, his cheek touching hers, his soft rumbling sound against her ear sending her arousal soaring and his fingers quickening their light strokes against her clit to inhuman speed. Her mouth parted at the sensation and his arm went around her waist to support her just as her knees went weak. Jenna was holding onto his shoulders, hovering just at the edge when he turned his head and very gently nipped at her neck. The feel of those sharp teeth lightly scraping her skin caught her by surprise and sent her soaring into climax.

Her breath was still coming fast when she opened her eyes, her trembling hand going to that spot where her neck and shoulder met. He hadn’t broken the skin or bruised her, but he seemed to have an instinctual sense of what she needed, and when, to make her come.

She blinked up at him and his look of male pride faded a bit.

He searched her face. “Okay?” he growled.

She nodded. Her body was still tingling and heavy with pleasure. Sex with him was the absolute best and she didn’t even know what had her so freaked.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her against his chest, and tears stung her eyes because now she knew. Before, she’d been biding her time to escape. Last night she couldn’t help but throw herself into the experience, but in the back of her mind she was going to get away from him.

But now I don’t want to get away at all. And there’s no future for us.

Ra’kur gave a soft, soothing growl, stroking her back with his broad palm.

She swallowed hard and seized on what kept her going during the long days of Pap’s illness.

No use dwelling on what’s coming, make the most of
now
.

“I’m okay,” she said and let herself relax in his embrace. 

With tender care he finished bathing her, even bending to wash one foot then the other. She shut off the shower and before she could reach for one he had her wrapped in a towel and was using another one to dry her face, arms, and legs.

His enthusiastic rubbing of her hair had her laughing and backing away before he could make the dark tresses into a complete tangled mess.