Page 8 of Gentle Giant

I started my descent, made it down maybe a foot, only to be grabbed and hauled up into the bedroom by freakishly large hands. Sasquatch hands. Oh my God, he was touching me.

I tried to wrench out of his grasp, but he tugged me closer and lifted me in his arms. He cradled me to his chest, staring down at me with a look of tenderness that left me stunned. It wasthe same affectionate look he’d given me in the dreams. I forgot how to breathe as our eyes remained locked.

“You are the woman I’ve been looking for,” he said. “What is your name, sweet human?”

My name? He wanted to know my name? My throat closed up and I shook my head as I pushed at his chest. But he wouldn’t put me down. I was trapped. Trapped in the Sasquatch’s big muscular arms.

A low growl left him, and he leaned down and took a deep inhale of my hair. Then he met my eyes again and gave me a brief smile. “Your name?” he asked in a hopeful tone.

“Tell me yours first,” I blurted.

His pale eyes twinkled with pleasure. “I am Brutus, chief of the Starblessed.”

“The Starblessed? Are you from another planet?” Starblessed sounded rather alien. Perhaps his people had settled on Earth right under our noses. That seemed like a more logical explanation than Bigfoot.

He gave me a strange look. “Another planet? I do not understand your meaning, but I am from here. You are on my people’s land, the territory in the Cascades that we have occupied for thousands of years.”

“I didn’t mean to trespass,” I said. “But I would be happy to leave. Right now. Put me down and I’ll be on my way.”

“You aren’t going anywhere, sweet human,” he said in that deep, rumbling otherworldly voice of his. “You belong to me, and I intend to keep you.”

Chapter 5

BRUTUS

The human female’sface turned dark pink, and she resumed struggling in my arms. I tightened my hold on her, refusing to put her down.

“What is your name?” I asked again.

Her eyes flashed and she scratched at my chest. Desire gripped me, and I fought back a growl as my cock hardened. I hoped once I brought her to my personal rooms in the cavern, she would get on her hands and knees and present herself for mating.

“You can’t keep me!” She thrashed around more vigorously.

I turned and headed for the stairs. Instead of walking down them, I leapt to the first level, still holding the sweet but feisty human in my arms. Mine. She was mine.

I carried the flailing woman out into the cool night. Her outraged cries resounded in the forest as I set out for the cavern. Her cabin rested a fair distance from my home, but if I walked through the night, we would reach the cavern by early morning.

“If I tell you my name,” she yelled, “will you put me down?”

“No,” I said firmly. “I am taking you to my home and the distance is far for a human to walk. Furthermore, I do not trust you will not run. I will carry you.”

“Furthermore. A Sasquatch just said ‘furthermore’ to me. Yep, losing my mind here.” She laughed and shook her head. “Yep, crazy as Aunt Shirley who used to let her pet cow, Mr. Moo Moo, sleep in her living room.”

I walked faster, trekking up a steep hill, as I pondered her strange words. She eventually ceased struggling, though she didn’t stop talking. But her words continued to sound strange and most of them were muttered, as though she were talking to herself.

The very Montikaan-like trait left me stunned.

I often talked aloud to myself when alone, and I knew many of my people did the same. Including my brothers. From time to time, I caught them talking to themselves. Seeing the human female display a trait common to my people gave me hope that maybe we weren’t so different after all. I’d worried about the compatibility of a Montikaan and a human, but perhaps we would share a heart-bond sooner than I expected.

HAILEY

You belong to me,and I intend to keep you.

The Sasquatch’s words kept repeating in my head. Brutus. He had a name. The fact that he had a name made him seem a little less beastly, but not by much.

He’d broken into my rental cabin. He’d kidnapped me. No matter how much I struggled or begged him to let me go, he kept refusing. Yep, total beast.

What did he want? Why would he want to keep me?

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