Page 34 of Charmed By the Alien Warrior

Suddenly, he disappears and the dream morphs again as the ground beneath me gives way, and I'm falling, plummeting into an endless void of nothingness. I scream as loud as I can, but the sound is swallowed by the darkness, disappearing just like I fear I’m about to. Just as the void is about to consume me, a hand reaches out and grabs onto me, pulling me back from the brink. I look up and see Sorrin, his gray eyes boring into mine.

“Mara!” I can hear his voice calling my name, but his lips don’t move. “Mara!”

“Mara.” Sorrin’s voice breaks through the nightmare, gentle yet insistent.

I jerk awake with a gasp.

The cave’s cool, damp air is a stark contrast to the suffocating heat of my nightmare. My breath comes in ragged gulps, and my heart races as I try to shake off the remnants of the dream. The soft glow of the moss on the cave walls casts eerie shadows, but the familiarity of the bioluminescent light comforts me.

Even more comforting is the man beside me.

My gaze shifts, and I realize Sorrin’s face is just inches from mine. His gray eyes are wide with worry. This close to him,I notice that his irises aren’t solid gray—there are little flecks of gold around the center, and they almost seem to grow larger as I stare.

“Mara?” His voice is a gentle rumble that echoes through me. He shifts closer, his presence a healing balm in the aftermath of the nightmare that still echoes in my mind.

“I’m fine,” I whisper through stiff lips. Wiping a trembling hand across my damp forehead, I take a deep breath in an attempt to steady my breathing. “It was just a dream.”

He studies me for a moment, his gaze piercing in the dim light as if he doesn’t really believe me. Finally, he asks, “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shake my head. “Not right now.”

The last thing I want is to relive that terror, even in words. I don’t want to even think about it right now. Instead, I force myself to focus on the present, and that’s when I notice that as we’ve talked, I’ve moved closer to Sorrin until my front is almost pressed against him.

Heat pours off of him, and even though I’m still covered in perspiration from the nightmare, I want to burrow against his warmth and soak it in. I want to let it—him—relaxand soothe me.

That realization sends a flush to my cheeks, but instead of pulling back like I know I should, I hesitate. Sorrin doesn’t move, doesn’t even breathe, as if he’s waiting for me to decide what happens next. And after the nightmare I just had, the patience and restraint he’s showing is all it takes.

Before I can second-guess myself, I close the gap between us and press my mouth against his. His lips are firm and fullagainst mine. At first, he stiffens, then ever so slowly, I feel the tension leave his frame like he’s exhaling a breath.

At first, his lips don’t move against mine, but eventually they grow bolder. But still, he lets me set the pace. He doesn’t take control and turn the kiss into a duel for dominance like so many men would. It’s sweet and just what I need right now to quiet the chaos in my head.

My lips linger on his as I pour the remnants of my nightmare into the kiss. Finally, with a whimper, I pull back, my heart pounding for reasons that have nothing to do with bad dreams.

When I look up and meet his eyes, I notice the gold flecks have expanded, crowding out the gray, until his irises look as if they’re on fire. His mouth hangs open in an expression of awe. And I’m reminded that this is possibly his first kiss ever, and a glow of warmth seems to settle in my chest.

But eventually, those same old feelings of fear and self-doubt that seem to follow me around like a cloud begin to hammer at my brain.

“I… I didn’t mean to.” My words come out shaky with the raw emotions that are still rampaging through me. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Nor did I, but I do not regret it.” Sorrin’s grin flashes as he continues, “Or any future kisses.”

I let out a small disbelieving laugh and roll my eyes, but I can’t be annoyed with him. Not when he’s flashing that heart-stopping, mischievous grin that I’m actually starting to like. Kind of.

It’s strange how such a soft, gentle, and short kiss could leave me feeling so odd. So different and changed. There’s an ache in my chest telling me to pull him to me and kiss him again, but I ignore it. Instead, I shift backwards and turn my focus away from him and to the cave entrance.

Outside, the weak, gray light of dawn is already filtering through the dense canopy of the jungle. I clear my throat. “How long will it take us to reach the Ancestors’ Ship?”

Sorrin eyes me for another moment, then finally he answers, “A day and a half of travel. We should reach it sometime tomorrow before the moons rise.”

I nod, and glance over at him. “Then, we should probably get moving soon.”

He grunts in agreement but hesitates, his gaze flicking back to me. “Are you sure you’re all right? If you need to, we can return to the village.”

My first instinct is to snap at him. To question if he thinks I’m weak, if he’s going to pressure me into giving up my plans, but I know his question is coming from a place of concern for me.

Instead, I sigh and say, “I’m fine, now. Really, I am. I just want to try to forget it for now and move on, okay?”

He eyes me for another long silent moment, his gaze searching mine for what I’m not sure, before he finally nods as if satisfied. Then, with a groan that somehow seems to settle inside me, he stands and stretches, his movements fluid and unhurried as he moves outside as if to give me time to gather myself.

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