Starport: Zeta Prime (Alt) (13 page)

“
Faron.”
She spoke his name as phonetically perfect as she could–knowing
that this, at least, he would hear. It worked. He looked to her,
his expression an impenetrable mask.

“
Jillian. You do not understand. My people are angry with
you, but it is me they should be angry with.” As he talked, he
touched the side of her face.

Both of
them turned as they heard a noise by the door. It was the female
from before, the one who had given her such a foul look.

“
Sorry
Faron. I wanted
to check that you were alright. I should’ve realized…I didn’t think
you’d have company.” She apologized, hovering by the entrance. Her
tall, lithe form was backlit by the naked flames burning to provide
light for the village center.

Jillian
stared at her
in disbelief. Why would he not have company? She was his mate, for
crying out loud, of course she was going to be here with him. She
knew for sure now that this was who Sennan had spoken
about.

“
Misha.
I am fine. Thank you for your concern but I wish to remain here
with Jillian. I will speak to the tribe later.” Faron dismissed her
politely.

The
flash of annoyance was perfectly obvious to Jillian, and she
wondered if Faron had seen it too. If he had, he didn’t show it
when he turned back to her. Misha took the opportunity to glare at
Jillian. She was unsure if the hostility was to do with her being
blamed for the injuries to the men, or purely because she felt that
Jillian was in her rightful place. Jillian suspected the latter,
from what she had observed from her so far. Knowing it would be far
more irritating than a defensive reaction, Jillian gave her a
sickly sweet smile before she left.

“
So. What happened,” she asked
in her own language, hoping that speaking herself
might encourage him to? Before he could reply, there was another
rap at the door. Crikey, could she not get five minutes alone with
him?

It was
his Mother. She carried a plate of food and a steaming cup of hot
liquid. She acknowledged Jillian briefly, not in an unkind way, but
clearly pre-occupied by the welfare of her son. Jillian moved to
the side so that Sennan could set down the plate before
him.

“
Thank you Mother, but you needn’t
wait on me.”

“
You are
injured my boy, and you need to rest. The tribe is eager to hear
from you about what happened out there. You need to speak soon,
everyone is anxious and speculation is growing.” She cast her eyes
quickly in Jillian’s direction and she knew she was speaking of her
being part of that speculation. Faron simply nodded. Sennan, as
curious for answers as Jillian was, sat next to him, not prepared
to give up that easily. Jillian decided to hover as close as she
could without raising suspicion, hoping to eavesdrop. She scanned
the room for something to do so that she wouldn’t make herself too
obvious. With delight, she noticed that the small fire pits
embedded into the earthen floor had not been lit, so she busied
herself with the task, cocking her head to hear as discreetly as
she could.

“
Talk to me
Faron. Let
me help you with your troubles,” Sennan said.

“
I just need to work out what to
say to my people. I don’t need help, but thank you for the offer. I
want to make sure Ashan is going to make a full recovery before I
speak.”

“
Ashan
is going to be fine. I have just been to visit him. He is awake,
though in a lot of pain. You made it back in time, Faron. You don’t
need to feel bad.” She assured him.

“
With respect Mother, you cannot tell me how not to feel.
Leave me with
Jillian. I will
speak to everyone soon.” She knew not to push it further and
Jillian was disappointed as well as warmed by him wanting her to
stay there. Sennan made a mime of eating food, and gestured toward
the communal hut. Jillian nodded that she understood Sennan’s
instructions that her meal was waiting for her, but there was no
chance that she would be leaving Faron now – not to go and face the
animosity that she had experienced there before.

She thought
back to her happiness of this morning, of how she had felt like she
finally fitted somewhere. Sure, the language barrier made things
difficult, but so far she had found this race nothing but
hospitable and friendly. Well, all apart from one that is. That
Misha, she was different from the rest–colder somehow. More
scheming. She valued Sennan’s advice earlier–glad that her
reactions had been noted by others. The women thought she was at
fault, even Fenn, whom she had spent time with and she assumed the
whispers in their ears from Misha had not been favorable towards
her.

“
Those people of yours. They are very dangerous. How is it
that you have not been affected by their blackness? Their
narrow-minded assumptions?”
Faron’s voice snapped her out of her daydream as she
finished lighting the last fire. The glowing orbs flickered amber
on his face and their hypnotic waves danced in his eyes. He was
breathtaking in that moment.

Not all are
dangerous. Some are very kind and loyal, she thought defensively.
She pointed to his wound again, now neatly bandaged with absorbent
blood-stained cloth, miming the question about what
happened.

“
You would have been hurt by them. I’m glad I took you. They
would have destroyed the best of their kind had they caught you.”
He ignored her plea, wincing at the stab in his shoulder as he
moved his arm.

Jillian
pushed the
plate towards him. She wanted him to get better, to be strong
again. He took it with a small smile and started to eat.

Deep down,
Faron was
a hunter, like his Father had been
. H
e did not wish to
start a war. He had gone to avenge his mate
. T
hey had
fought for her honor, as a warning to those that may choose to seek
her. The guards had been surprised by their ambush, by their
strength and ability. Faron felt that they would assume she had
been savaged–by either his people or the beasts in the wilderness.
Whichever, he felt an instinctive certainty that they would not be
crossed, that Jillian would not be hunted. They had learnt from
this that the death weapons had to be removed first. If they did
ever come, they would know now what to do.

If he had to be a warrior, then so be
it. He would do whatever it took to protect his tribe and his mate.
His Father had died on a hunting trip, having been ravaged by what
appeared to be an entire pack of beasts. Since then, the men of the
tribe had not gone hunting alone. That had been the lesson of his
Father’s generation. These were different times, but the potential
outcome was the same. All that was required was cunning and
caution.

He felt bad for Ashan, for Fenn. But wounds would heal, and
his biggest mission now would be to assure the tribe that although
they were her people,
Jillian
was not the one responsible for the men’s injuries. He saw that she
cared for him, that his powerful feelings were reciprocated and in
fact, made him stronger, not weaker. The security gave him courage
and lifted by the thought, he began to eat.

Jillian
began to
wonder if that closeness from after the ceremony had been imagined,
and thought of how pleased Misha would have been to hear her
doubts. Faron had showed her a little tenderness, sure. But she
wanted more than that – she wanted the fire in his eyes that had
been there. She wanted to feel a part of him again, for his touch
on her. Did he not find her desirable? She thought that perhaps he
found the meeting of the two of them too hard, being as they were
from other worlds. Maybe he would prefer Misha? Despite sitting
next to him while he ate, Jillian felt very alone, and didn’t
realize that tears had started to run down her cheeks until he
brushed one away. His touch was instantly comforting, and the look
in his eyes when she searched them with her own was heartbreakingly
understanding. It was as if he saw into her soul, and without
words, made her feel as though everything was going to be
okay.

Chapter
Fifteen

“
I felt so angry towards your people for treating you the
way they did. They would have killed you and I just couldn’t keep
my head thinking about what might have been.”
Faron left his thumb on her cheek as he spoke.
Jillian processed what he’d just told her–it was more revealing
than anything he had said before. It was as if he were insinuating
that he had gone out looking for the men. That he had gone to
fight.

The thought of it boiled her blood
slightly
–had he gone out
looking for them? Because of what they might have done to her? She
couldn’t help the anger
.
I
t was borne out of her care
for him ultimately, not that she could see it in that moment. He
could have been killed–she didn’t want that on her shoulders, she
couldn’t take that kind of guilt.

As he leant forward to kiss her, she yielded straight away.
She wanted to comfort him, she wanted to apologize for putting him
in that situation in the only way she could. But she also felt
scared of her feelings for him. No one had ever fought for her
before, she normally had to fight for herself. Having him stand up
for her, taking care of her, was overwhelming to the point of
fear.
Despite herself,
despite all her barriers and toughness, she was falling in
love.

Faron
kissed her
deeply, running his hand round to the back of her head and wrapping
her curly hair over his fingers. She flung both of her arms around
his neck as their tongues met with fleeting, tantalizing flicks. He
sucked on her lower lip, pulling slightly and she exhaled hard. She
had been waiting for this.

He kissed down her neck
—
fluttering,
butterfly kisses that sent shivers up and down her spine. With soft
hands, he removed both her top and skirt and discarded them to the
side. The rest of the world melted away as Jillian maneuvered her
arms down and ran her hand along his groin. Underneath his covering
garment, she felt his throbbing hardness grow more solid from her
touch. As she removed the cloth, an exquisite thrill coursed
through her as she clasped him in her palm. It was hot and smooth,
and she moved along the shaft slowly at first, taking in the feel
of him.

His fingers flitted between her legs, dipping into her
moistness and then circling her bud. She stopped her motion for a
second
,
unable to focus on what she was doing as
pleasure froze her exploration.

Faron
climbed on top
of her, his hair hanging loose and tickling the side of her face.
He thrust into her smoothly with a grunt. She was open, wet and
ready for him and their hips rocked in sync. Lifting himself up on
his arms, his eyes held hers steady as he glided in and out of her.
The movements were small, slow. Jillian held on to his shoulders,
watching his desire, seeing the tip of his tongue touch his teeth
and his lips slacken.

The only sound was an odd crackle from the fires, their
staggered breaths and pounding of hearts. He teased her puckered
nipple with his nail, keeping the rhythm, massaging her from the
inside. The
heat within her
body concentrating into a fizzing orbit around her groin as he hit
the spot, again and again–building layer upon layer of
eroticism.

A low moan formed in her throat. He got her so close, so
quickly. Like he was made to penetrate her in exactly the right
place
—
the tip of him satisfying a throbbing need while
his pubic area rubbed on her button that prickled with the
stimulation.

“
I love being a part of you,” h
e said, breathlessly.

“
Faron,” Jillian gasped as she tried to speak. She was tight
around him, feeling every ridge of his shaft as it stroked and
stroked her inner walls.

“
Faron.” She tried again to say the words she wanted, but
all words were washed from her as she drowned in a tsunami of
orgasm, releasing ragged cries as she came–digging her nails into
the tops of his arms and arching her back. All her muscles tensed,
the whole world disappearing as the only thing that she was aware
of in this moment were the fireworks going off inside of
her.

Faron
paused his
grinding as he waited for her convulsions to slow, delighting in
her furrowed brow and open mouth as she moaned. It turned him on
even more, and his hips worked at a faster pace this time. Jillian
had barely got her breath back before she felt him shudder and
spill into her. A hot liquid that mixed with her own.

He remained
inside her as he softened and she kissed every inch of his face,
feeling content and satisfied. The gentle light in the room showed
his smile and she felt an unusual security–the sense that her
feelings were reciprocated. She hadn’t forgotten the fact that he
could have got himself killed, that he possibly went out to hunt
her men, but she had well and truly forgiven him. There was also
admiration, she found him brave and fearless–willing to take on
anything in order to keep those close to him safe. A loyalty and
pureness no longer found in the human men she had romantic
experiences with. He was selfless and strong, a very rare
combination. Jillian couldn’t stop her kisses, realizing how lucky
she was to have found this.