Erun (Scifi Alien Romance) (The Ujal Book 4) (10 page)

And his head disappeared beneath the waves, followed by a flash of shimmering fins, Erun’s tail flickering above the water before it too vanished.

It
was
him. And he was either swimming away or… toward her.

Every once in a while she’d see another snippet of color above the waves, telling her Erun was doing anything but running away.

She crossed her arms and wiped away the sudden bout of nerves that assaulted her, forcing goose bumps to cover her skin. Why was she nervous? She knew Erun. Well mostly. All right, she knew him a little, knew some of his past, but she wasn’t sure anyone truly
knew
him. That would have to change if they mated.

Before long he broke the surface nearby and slowly rose from the sea. Remembering the last time she’d seen him come out of the water, she slapped her palm over her eyes. She sensed him coming closer, his heat eventually bathing her as his scent invaded her nose.

He remained quiet, so she figured she’d kick off the conversation. “Um, hi.”

Erun grunted. Her mate was such a conversationalist. “Why do you cover your eyes?”

“Uh,” Vanessa cleared her throat. “Because you’re naked?”

“Ujal are not shy with our bodies.”

“Well, humans kinda are. Staring at someone’s nude body without permission is kinda frowned on. And I don’t exactly have permission. Plus, we don’t know each other well.”

The sand shifted, telling her he’d come closer and his breath fanned her face when he spoke. “You have permission. May I have yours?”

She squeaked and stumbled back a step, finally thumping to the ground with a low
oomph
. She uncovered her eyes, trying to catch herself, and couldn’t help looking at Erun. A half-clothed Erun. A swath of dark fabric covered him from hips to mid-thigh, shielding those embarrassing bits.

“Damn Rhal to the seas,” Erun growled and tossed his trident aside. Trident? “He told me flirting would make you more likely to accept me. He is obviously a liar.”

“Flirting? But…” she shook her head. “Were you out hunting? You weren’t…”
Stalking me? Or aching for me so much that you couldn’t stay away? Or even curious about how Tabby is doing?

He leaned down and hauled her to her feet. Then he went a step further and pulled her against him. She molded to him, his hard muscles drawing her forward and she let herself relax into his hold. Just for a second. His arm wrapped around her waist, palm spreading wide on her lower back as he pressed her closer to him. Her blood warmed with the nearness, body remembering what it was like to be held, touched, and… kissed?

“Yes, though I do not believe I fully understand the concept of flirting. I have been waiting for you to notice me so I could approach you. I know I said I would give you time, but,” he rested his cheek on the top of her head, “I am finding that difficult. Now that I decided I want you, I do not want to wait for you to realize you would like to mate me.”

“Erun…”

He rubbed his cheek against her, so gentle despite his overwhelming strength. He still took
krilate
injections daily which left him heavily muscled while males of his age slowly began losing some of their power. He couldn’t live without the drug, his body now addicted to the injections. And it was his size, his power, and the way he only used it when necessary, that attracted her as well.

He could defend and protect them while softly cradling her daughter. A study in contrasts that appealed to her.

The longer she stayed in his arms, she realized it attracted
all
of her.

When a hardness slowly grew and pressed against her hip, she knew he was attracted to
all
of her as well. He didn’t only want to mate her because of Tabby. He was obviously a little selfish in his desires.

And she liked that. Relief rushed through her with the knowledge and it banished a worry she hadn’t realized existed.

He wanted them both. Tabby to cherish as a child and Vanessa to welcome as a mate.

“I am not rushing you—though we do not have much time. But I will make myself available and get as close as possible. I will do all I can to prove my worth.”

She had so many things to say to that and she didn’t know where to start.

“I will provide a meal for Tabby to show I can feed my family.”

She sighed and leaned away from him, tilting her head back until she could meet his gaze. “You don’t have to do that to win me—or Tabby—over.”

He frowned. “Tabby would not like me more if I brought her squid? It is why I traveled with my trident. Gathering
iggles
for her is simple compared to earth squid. They are able to slide into small spac—”

She pressed the pads of two fingers to his lips. “She likes you anyway, but she would probably also like fresh squid. Her love of sea life makes sense to me now and she’s always loved fresh over frozen.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Then what can I do for you?”

“What do you mean?”

“To make you accept me? What can I do to convince you I would make a good mate?”

Vanessa turned her attention to the gently rolling seas. “It’s not as simple as that, Erun.”

Erun squeezed her gently, bringing her attention back to him. “Then make it simple. I will convince you one task at a time. What is your first uncertainty?”

He was right in that it was more than one thing keeping her from jumping into his arms with a smile and open heart.

But the biggest, the one that screamed at her and told her mating Erun was the worst idea ever, was pretty simple. “I’m afraid you’ll die.”

Erun grew up wishing for death, freedom from his circumstances, and now he ached for a long life. He ached to continue holding Vanessa close, to wake with her each morning and lay beside her each night.

“Nessa,” he murmured and her lips parted with the soft hitch of her breath.

“You don’t call me Nessa.”

“I should not call the female I will mate by her love name?” She furrowed her brow and he realized he had not said the words correctly. “It is a name used by the ones who love you. A nickname.” Vanessa shook her head and he swallowed his curse. She did not even want him to get that close? It was a name, a
word
. He would not address it now. He must first get her to agree and then they could approach other subjects.

“I apolo—”

“No, it’s fine. It just surprised me. You’ve been so…” she stiffened in his arms, “unbendable. You kept telling me I had to do this. Or I was ordered to do that. Or I’m a horrible mother and—”

“You are
not
a poor
dam
.” He would not allow her to think otherwise. “I was speaking out of turn. Now that I have spent time with Tabby—time where I was the only one she could lean upon—I realize how difficult raising a youngling is.” He cupped her cheek, astonished by all she’d accomplished. “To think you cared for her alone for so long. There is no stronger female, Vanessa. None.”

A low cry followed by a whimper reached his ears and he immediately released Vanessa. His gaze scanned the area, searching for the source of that small voice he knew so well. He took in his surroundings, the sand dunes and gentle waves. There was no telling what would happen if Tabby got in the water. “Vanessa, were is Tabitha?” The child’s whine came again, this time accompanied by a soft
Momma
. “Vanessa?”

She sounded so close. He must get to her before—

“Erun, it’s fine. She’s in the house.” He turned his attention to his mate-to-be—even if she did not yet accept his claim—and she waved a small device at him. “Let’s go before she yells the place down.”

Tabitha’s sounds came from the small device and he frowned before looking to Vanessa for an explanation. “What is that? Where is Tabby?”

She grinned and he decided she should always smile. It would be his job to ensure it. “A baby monitor. It lets you leave her alone so you can do other things but still hear her if she wakes.”

He glared at the small device, remembering nights of sleeping in the tiny
rocking chair
in Tabitha’s room. He wished to be near should she awaken and there was more than one evening when she screamed several times during the darkness. He snatched the small device, hating yet loving its invention.

Vanessa leaned forward and poked one of the small buttons and the screen flickered to life. “You can even see her. I usually leave the screen off because it drains the battery, but it’s easy to flick on when you hear something.”

And there was little Tabby standing in her crib, small fingers clutching the bars. He knew the youngling’s expression well. It was one of rapidly growing fury that she would unleash upon an unsuspecting soul. Since Vanessa was available, that anger could be unleashed on her. Erun was safe. For now.

Why had no other shown this to him? At least Rhal must have known!

Then he remembered Rhal’s warnings of late nights and interrupted sleep. The male had done it on purpose. He would meet him in the sphere.

“Come,” he gripped his trident in one hand and snatched Vanessa’s hand with his other. “We cannot leave her crying for long. She likes to throw things and then she begs for them back only to throw them again.” He shook his head. He would never understand the logic of kids. “If we give her what she desires immediately, we can avoid the throwing and the crying.” He stopped short and stared down at her. “I cannot stand her tears. You must never let her cry.”

“Children cry, Erun.”

“Not mine. It destroys my heart.”

“She’s not—” Vanessa silenced the rest of her statement, but he knew what she meant.

And did not care.

Tabby’s cries continued, but his message was important. He would provide her with additional dessert as an apology for his tardiness. He tugged her to a stop and met her gaze. “I will say this as many times as is necessary, but know this: Tabitha is not my child by blood and you may not wish to mate with me, but my time with her has made her the child of my heart. I do not hold a love as deep as yours, but it is no less strong.

“I cared for her for mere days while you have had many. I only dried a handful of tears when you’ve wiped hundreds. I have only kissed two of her
boo boos
though I believe one was simply a speck of dirt, and you have cradled her through the pain of dozens. But today and every other, I will think and treat her as if she were my own.”

Her mouth hung open with shock and he was surprised his did not do the same. He was surprised by the depths of his feelings for such a tiny Ujal, but he could not retract his words. They were the truth.

Tabitha’s yells increased and he strode past Vanessa, dragging her in his wake. “Come, if we stop by the kitchen and collect one of the small bags of nourishment, she will consume them quietly and calmly.”

For a little while, then she seemed to bounce everywhere not long after she ate. But she was no longer crying. As Rina often said, it was a
win
.

“Nourishment?”

Erun did not have time to sate Vanessa’s curiosity. He must remain focused on his task. He dropped her hand the moment they reached the back door and strode into the small space. He immediately went to the cooling device humans called a refrigerator while his gaze locked on the small bowl atop the device that held his prize. He was not sure why Vanessa stored the nourishment so high, but he did not care. It was a worry for another day.

He did not have to stretch to reach the bowl and he easily grasped one of the small bags he’d placed there while he cared for Tabby.

The soft patter of Nessa’s bare feet on the tile told him she’d followed. “I will return in a moment. She is almost to the point of no return, but if I hurry—”

“Oh my god, you fucking bribe her with candy!”

Erun froze and thought over his actions. “I admit there may be a little bribery involved but I choose to view it as an exchange.”

Vanessa snorted and he decided she was beautiful even when making such a rude noise. “Of what?”

“I provide her with nourishment. She provides me with a head that does not ache. It is an even exchange.”

She merely shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Nice try. I now get why she’s been staring at the fridge as if it held the meaning of life.”

She moved past him, snatching the small bag on the way and tossing it in the trash.

“Wait, that is…” His only salvation. She did not understand what would come from not providing the child with what she desired.

“You’ve spoiled her. One week and she became a devil child, Erun.” She paused just inside the hallway and met his gaze. “Is this the kind of dad you’ll be?” She grinned as if that was not a bad thing.

Then he recognized her words. “I will be the best
sire
—father—I can for her.” He swallowed hard. “And any others that may come.”

A bolt of pain seared her features. “Erun, we already talked—”

“And I have continued speaking with Sece. It might be possible to—”

“Mo-mmaaa!”

Vanessa rolled her eyes and smiled. “One second, Tabby Blabby.”

“Mo. Mma!”

“Momma’s talking to Erun, baby. Give me one second.”

“Daman?” The youngling’s voice perked up. “Daman, come.”

He could imagine her arms raised, small hands clenching and relaxing as she beckoned him. It was his turn to smile and they shared something in that moment, a feeling and connection he had never experienced with another. It was an odd sensation yet… warming. He moved toward Vanessa, two goals in mind—experiencing the feeling of Nessa’s body near his once more and silencing Tabitha. His steps brought her closer and when he eased even nearer, she placed one hand on his chest.

“Erun, about what you said… About children. You know I can’t give you that. You even said you were sterile. I don’t know how—”

It was his turn to place a finger over her lips. He would love to silence her with a kiss as he’d witness Tave do to Rina on many occasions but he knew she would not accept that. Yet. “There are many moving parts to the Ujal nation on Earth. It is unfortunate that an Ujal youngling ended up in a human’s hands.” She brushed his hand aside and opened her mouth to speak but he continued. “You have been an exceptional
dam,
but Tabitha would have been better prepared for the sea by an Ujal parent. That is not the point of my statement. It was merely to say that she is not the only child who could benefit from having you as their
dam
and I believe that in time, I would be a suitable
sire
.”