Saved By The Warrior Hero Page 11

  “I wanted to—” Nion said simultaneously.

  We both stopped, then laughed nervously.

  Oh, boy. Compared to this, I almost preferred when Nion had been avoiding me.

  “You first,” Nion said with a little nod. “You wanted to ask me something?”

  “Oh.” I rubbed my arm and shrugged. “Just, um. How’s your head? When I saw you in the training room the other day, you got bonked pretty hard while you were waving to Leonix.”

  “I was waving to you,” Nion corrected me. Then his cheeks turned that telltale deeper orange color. Now, he was blushing too. Which, despite how teeth-grindingly stilted this conversation was going, was still pretty cute. “But, ah, yes. My head is fine. I made Gallix regret his cowardly little sneak attack after you left.”

  “That’s…good, then.” I tried to fight back my smile, but it was hard. He’d been waving to me. That was…well, it could have meant nothing, but it also could have been a pretty good sign. “What did you want to ask me?”

  “What?” Nion blinked for a moment, then rubbed the back of his head. “Ah. Yes. I, ah…wanted to apologize, actually. I understand that I have been…difficult of late.”

  “You can say that again.”

  “I have been difficult of late?” Nion repeated, looking confused.

  My smile was growing now. He was even cuter when in confusion as he was when he blushed. Difficult was definitely one way to put it. But if he was apologizing…maybe that was over now.

  Maybe we could move past it. Have a fresh start.

  “I think we’ve both been going through some weird stuff lately.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “But it doesn’t matter now. Are you excited to see the new planet tomorrow? Newthelia?”

  “I am—what of it we will see as we are whisked away to the embassy, at any rate. And yourself?”

  “Really excited, actually. I’ve never, you know, been to anywhere other than Earth before. It’s a little scary, sure, but I think I’ll make do.”

  “You will not need to be scared, Alyse.” Nion straightened a little. Unless I was imagining it…I was pretty sure he’d just puffed out his chest, too. “I will be there by your side through all of it. I will not abandon you. I will protect you. You have my word.”

  He smiled down at me, and it immediately sent my heart aflutter.

  The idea of Nion sticking close to me again was…kind of an exciting one. I didn’t think I’d be in any real danger on Newthelia, but if I was…

  At least I knew that when it came to protecting me, Nion was kind of an expert at this point.

  “Thank you, Nion.” I returned his smile then glanced down the hall toward my room.

  I wanted to linger. I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, actually. Ask him about his home, and his scars, and his favorite color. About his time in the military and the life he’d return to when he was finally finished with it.

  But I also didn’t want to push my luck. I didn’t know why he’d been avoiding me, but if that was over, I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and give him any reason to start running away again.

  “You are headed to bed, then?” Nion asked as he noticed the shift in my gaze.

  “I guess I probably should. But…I’m excited to see you tomorrow. Even if we’re stuck in the embassy, at least we’ll be stuck together, right?”

  “Yes,” Nion agreed. His smile had not yet left his lips. “Together.”

  “Goodnight, Nion.”

  “Goodnight, Alyse.”

  I turned and made my way back to my room. But even as I walked away, I could feel his eyes on me until I rounded the corner.

  He was watching over me until I was out of sight.

  As I made my way down the ramp off the ship the next day, my heart was fluttering like crazy. This was my first time on an alien planet. My first time on any planet other than Earth. And despite all the hardships that had brought me here…I wasn’t even scared.

  No, I was excited. On Newthelia, I could finally get a feel for how non-humans lived. Maybe it would help me prepare myself for what life on Lunaria could be like, if I was really serious about going to stay there. And best of all, this could give me a chance to reinvent myself. I wasn’t a victim anymore. I was ready to stop feeling like one.

  Here, I could show Nion—and Leonix, and Coplan, and every other Lunarian—that I could handle myself now.

  Then, at the bottom of the ramp, I tripped.

  For a second, my heart stopped. My first time on an alien planet, and instead of daintily stepping onto it, I was going to be face-planting. Great. Good one, Alyse! A 10/10 on the way-too-revealing Welcome to Newthelia outfit Leonix had given me to wear, 0/10 on the dismount.

  But at the last second, a strange little green blur rushed forward at me and caught me before I could tumble to the ground.

  “Careful, female! You could have hurt yourself!” An exceptionally low, deep voice boomed from the little green-skinned figure in front of me. This new alien wasn’t like any I had seen before. He was short and hairless, with big, glowing green eyes and large hands.

  Hands that were slowly but steadily winding around my waist…and toward my ass.

  “Hey!” I yelped. I swatted his hand away and stumbled backward. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

  The little green man only grinned. He didn’t look at all embarrassed to have been caught trying to pinch my ass. If anything, he looked pleased with himself.

  “I am Gernio. You are the human Alyse, I take it?” He looked me up and down with approving eyes. “Mm. Yes. I have heard much about the loveliness of the human form, but I must say, it is an unexpected pleasure to look upon it in person. Truly, you are even more beautiful than the tales would suggest.” He drew himself up to his full height—which left the top of his head just about level with my boobs—and held his arms out wide. “Do you wish to copulate with me?”

  I made a face and took another step back.

  What was this guy even on?

  “Um. No, thank you. I’d rather not,” I told him pointedly.

  Gernio didn’t seem to be dejected by the way I’d refused him, though. His grin didn’t wane, not even for a moment.

  “Perhaps later, then. Pleasure is the greatest attraction here on Newthelia, after all. It would be incredibly rude of you to deny yourself, and as you are here without a mate…” Suddenly, Gernio’s smile shrank back by half. I could sense someone coming up behind me, tall enough that the shadow they cast moved over me and engulfed Gernio completely. “Unless…”

  “Yes.” Nion came to my side and took my hand in his. “I am her mate. May I help you?”

  His mate? I didn’t know what Nion was playing at, but it was definitely coming straight out of left field.

  To my relief, it made Gernio back off a little, at least. He shrugged, then shook his head. “A great misfortune! But no, in fact, it is I who am here to help you. I am to be your driver to the embassy. But if you are bonded, you will be traveling together then, yes?”

  “Yes.” Nion’s voice was just short of a growl. Somehow, he felt even taller and more muscular than usual right now. Or maybe Gernio was just so short and horny, he made Nion seem even manlier by comparison. “We will be.”

  “Excellent!” This time, he didn’t sound like he meant it. Gernio cast a final disgruntled glance at Nion, then looked me up and down again for good measure, before turning and waving for us to follow him. “Right this way!”

  As Gernio led Nion and me toward a sleek, silvery wheelless car, the tension in Nion’s shoulders didn’t dissipate.

  “Lecherous little cur,” he grumbled. His fingers squeezed my hand tightly. “I apologize for the lie, Alyse. I should have warned you—Newthelians are, as a rule, as sex-obsessed as they come. If I had not stepped in, he would have continued to needle you—and Newthelians only become more and more unbearable the more frequently they hear no. Do you mind?”

  “I think I should probably be thanking you,”
I said genuinely. My hero. Again. “I mean, maybe I should be flattered, but—”

  “You should not. He should not have even been even thinking of you in such a way.”

  “But I appreciate you stepping in,” I finished. I gave his hand a little squeeze for emphasis. “Guess you’ve saved me again, Nion King-killer.”

  “Do not call me that.” He said it like a knee-jerk reaction. I wondered how many times he must have said it to the other men aboard the ship since he’d slit Var-arak’s throat.

  But despite the way he’d responded as we climbed into the back of the car, I caught the hint of a smile on his lips. The proud kind.

  And as the little car rose up off the ground to fly over the sparkling neon of the city below, Nion’s hand didn’t leave mine.

  14

  Nion

  “And here are your chambers!” The little green slimeball that had driven us to the embassy pulled open the doors to a room on the third floor, then threw his hands wide in an overly grandiose gesture. “Fitted for every pleasure known to the galaxies, as all chambers should be.”

  He gave Alyse a disgusting wink. I should have had his throat for it, along with all the other ways he looked at her. My claws twitched eagerly at the thought.

  Perhaps that would not be the worst idea. There was something about slamming someone up against a wall by his neck and holding him there until he looked remorseful which could be most useful when dealing with lustful males. I had considered the same thing about Coplan of late—more times than I would like to admit.

  But before I could show the full extent of my disdain for our Newthelian guide, Alyse made a small sound of confusion from within the room.

  “Um. There’s only one bed.” She turned to us at the foot of the large, round, silk-covered mattress. Nervousness marked her brow.

  It was hard to tell what was worrying her more—the sleeping situation, or the fact that there was a set of handcuffs visibly attached to the headboard.

  “But of course,” Gernio said matter-of-factly. “It would not make sense for a mated pair to sleep apart, would it? Unless…the two of you would be interested in alternative company while you are here?”

  Blood. My lie had saved Alyse from the unwanted attentions of our guide, but now we had a bigger problem. Alyse may have joked about sleeping with me while she was intoxicated, but of course, she had not actually intended on going through with it.

  “No.” I moved through the room toward Alyse and took her waist in my hands—gently. I wanted to continue to put on a good show for Gernio, since he seemed to be unable to take a hint, but I did not want Alyse to think I was genuinely lustful for her. Regardless of how fair she looked in her sheer black pants and tight, midriff-baring top. I smiled down on her, then gave her a wink of my own. “I would not share my mate for all of the credits in the galaxies. I want for nothing more than her.”

  If we were going to convince Gernio to stop offering us other bedmates, I determined, we would have to do this properly. With a low, wanton growl, I dipped my lips down to her ear. Her white-blonde curls tickled at my nose and her scent filled my lungs. Soft and sweet. Feminine. Delectable.

  But though Gernio likely thought I was sticking my tongue in Alyse’s ear, I gave her a whisper instead.

  “As soon as he leaves us, I will find Kloran and Haelian to arrange other accommodation,” I promised her.

  Alyse pulled back to meet my eyes for the moment. Her green orbs sparkled deviously—then, she threw her arms around my neck and drew me to her with an implausibly loud moan.

  “Oh, Nion!”

  It seemed I was not the only one keen on playing my part.

  I only wished that my body had not responded to Alyse’s acting quite so…strongly. I knew she was merely putting on a show, but as far as my cock was concerned, it was happy to stand at attention any time my name was on her lips.

  “I think maybe you should stay,” she whispered back to me. Her breath against my ear was humid and gorgeously warm. “We can figure out the bed thing later. If these Newthelians are as pushy as you say…”

  “Mm. Yes,” I purred back at her, loud enough for Gernio to hear. I ran my fingers through her hair, relishing the silken wildness of her curls.

  There was a chance that I was enjoying playing my own part a little too much, of course—but just because I was acting did not mean I could not have a little fun with it.

  Across the room, Gernio cleared his throat.

  “I do not suppose you might allow me to watch, at least?” he suggested hopefully.

  The next growl that left my throat was a genuine one. I strode across the room and picked up the little Newthelian by the scruff of his neck. He wriggled beneath my grasp but could not free himself before I all but tossed him out the door.

  “If you change your mind—” he called out to me, his face twisted in desperation.

  I slammed the doors in his face, then rested my forehead against them as I calmed my rage.

  Newthelian males. Blood. I could understand why the Newthelian females were so eager for Lunarians to copulate with. The males, as Gernio had just so thoroughly demonstrated, were no doubt as insufferable in bed as they were out of it.

  Behind me, I heard a muffled sound from Alyse. When I turned, she was doubled over, clutching her stomach tight. Her face was hidden from me by the veil of her curls.

  “Alyse? Are you all right?” I took a tentative step toward her. After all she had been through aboard the Rutharian ship, this had likely been a trying experience for her, but it could not be helped. I reached for her in preparation to wipe away tears.

  But instead of a sob, when Alyse threw her head back, I heard laughter. The only tears in her eyes were tears of joy.

  “Oh, that was hilarious,” she howled. She threw herself down onto the bed, unable to cease her giggling. “The look on his face when you threw him out—and, oh my gosh, can you believe he asked if he could watch?”

  I moved to the bed and stood over her. It pleased me to see her in such high spirits, especially given my fears about how she would react to Gernio’s clumsy advances toward her.

  It pleased me more, unfortunately, to see her lying on the bed before me as she was. Her hair pillowed her head, white-blonde curls haloing at her crown. Her top hugged her breasts tight, and her stomach, flat and smooth, looked good enough to cover in kisses. Most of all, though, I struggled to tear my eyes away from her legs. They were long and slender, visible through the sheer black fabric of her trousers. I yearned to grab hold of them, wrap them around my waist and make good on all that Gernio likely believed was currently happening behind the closed doors of our suite.

  A shame, truly, that I could not.

  “You were very good,” I commended her instead. “Had I not started that, I may have believed you.”

  “Is that so?” Alyse shifted on the bed, posing seductively. The way her long, dark eyelashes flicked as she slowly opened and closed her eyes only made my urge to fold my body over hers that much worse. “Do I please you, my mate?”

  “Greatly,” I choked out, then cleared my throat. I glanced to the door as a sinking suspicion distracted me from my inappropriate yearnings. “But I fear I am not the one who needs to be sated right now.”

  “Oh?” Alyse cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “I hope you’re not considering taking Gernio up on his offer for alternative bedmates. If you are, I’m going to have to sleep on the floor.”

  I pressed a finger to my lips to remind her of the parts we were playing, then offered her my hand. With a reasonable amount of hesitation, she took it. I led her across the room, further away from the door.

  “I will sleep on the floor.” I lowered my voice to a whisper so we could not be overheard. “But I fear it is unlikely we are rid of Gernio quite yet, unfortunately. If I could see through walls, I have a feeling he is likely listening in through the door as we speak.”

  “Huh.” Alyse’s eyes glimmered with delight as I mov
ed to stand on the bed, then pulled her up with me. “So…you want to make some noise, then?”

  “Just a little,” I agreed. “We would not want Gernio to leave disappointed.”

  I gave a little bounce on the bed. It creaked just loudly enough that I suspected a keen ear could hear it even from the hall.

  Especially if the sound of a creaking bed was what the dirty-minded little fool was listening for.

  Alyse giggled, then gave a little bounce herself. I held onto her hands to hold her steady. I had already allowed her to tumble once today when I failed to find her quickly enough on her way off the ship. I did not intend to let her fall again.

  “Oh, Nion! Oh, yes… Do me! Just like that!” Alyse had to fight back her laughter as she shouted and jumped.

  “Yes, Alyse!” I joined in. I was not selling my part nearly as well as she was, but for the moment, it would have to do. “Your, ah…your hair…it is so…so good!”

  “Oh, yeah, bay-bee. Put it in, um…in your mouth!” Alyse looked as though if she held her laughter in for another moment, she would burst from it.

  It was unlike any sex talk I had ever heard before, admittedly. With this ridiculous new turn in our play-acting, it was hard not to laugh at it.

  “Yes, my love,” I shouted back at her, giving myself over to the hilarity of the moment. “I love your…your hair in my mouth…it is very, ah…”

  “Sex-ee,” Alyse supplied. “Oh, yes, you big dirty hair-eater. You’re so sex-ee, I could die!”

  We bounced for a while longer, until our legs gave out and we collapsed onto the bed. She clutched at me, laughing so hard her entire body shook.

  My own cheeks ached from smiling. The laughter that rumbled through my own torso made my abs burn.

  And as she curled against my chest, snuggling her tiny, heaving frame deep into my arms, something else inside me burned too.

  Sleeping on the floor or not, I knew that this new situation between us was going to lead to a long night. What kind of long night, though?

  That, I had yet to figure out.