Page 40 of The Warrior's Oath
“She is,” Korvin replied for her while she chewed. “And with your permission, perhaps she could remain here under your care while I—”
Nyota nearly choked on her food. “Hang on!” she blurted, forcing it down in a hurry. “There’s no way you’re leaving me behind. There are humans out there as well. Maybe not close friends, but the only other people from my world in this galaxy so far as I know. I’m coming with.”
Korvin fell silent, staring hard at her, sizing up her drive and conviction. It seemed the weak human had more fire in her belly than he’d given her credit for. Slowly, he nodded. “Very well,” he said, his lingering gaze abruptly stirring something within her.
Nyota shifted slightly in her seat, her legs crossing, sending a little jolt through her body.What the hell was that?she wondered.
He had always had stunning eyes, and she was more than pleased to stare into them, but this felt different somehow. Like a tingling heat crawling under her skin as well as the usual flare of arousal.
Whatever it was, she was coming with. And no matter how things turned out, she would have time to further assess this confusing new reaction. Did the tattoos make her hyper-sensitive to sexy men? She had no idea, but if all went well, she’d find out soon enough.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
For the next two days Korvin and his strange companion from an unknown world were in high demand in Molok. While Korvin had received the initial surge of interest when word of him spread through the city, soon enough tales of the woman from a race called humans shifted an equal amount of curiosity Nyota’s way.
Together they were the newest“it”couple, though they were not actually anything of the sort. But for the masses seeking to tell their friends they had met the hottest things in town in years, that made no difference.
Nyota stayed close to Korvin the entire time, not daring to venture out on her own, especially with the throngs of people and all the newfound scrutiny directed at her. Also, that would have been utterly unacceptable in Korvin’s book. His honor dictated he keep her safe, and that was what he would do no matter what.
Fortunately, along with word of who and what he was spreading like wildfire, so too was the tale of his taking apart a dozen armed thugs with ease. Had it been merely one or two or even three, perhaps some overzealous musclehead would have stepped up to challenge him in an ill-advised attempt at earning street cred. But having laid out twelve full-grown men? And without breaking a sweat? Even the most foolhardy were notthatstupid.
Interestingly, while Korvin still remained unmoved by the increasing number of women and men coming on to him, the new ranks of interested parties curious to get a piece of his novel human counterpart seemed to rankle him. Nyota noticed the subtle shift in his reactions after the first day. It was not a big reaction, but it was definitely there.
He’d always been cool and aloof where she was involved, but now there seemed to be an almost possessive flare in his demeanor. It was odd. Flattering, but odd.
She started consciously paying more attention to his attitude, and sure enough, his holier-than-thou affect was diminishing by the day. On top of that, the looks they shared sparked a strange heat in her chest, as though maybe, just maybe, something more might be brewing.
But no, he had made his intentions abundantly clear. She was a duty, nothing more. An annoyance, on top of that, one hindering him from his quest to find his general. But even so, Nyota couldn’t help but wonder as every time their eyes locked, she felt an increasing tugging sensation deep within her.
He got you off, that’s all, she chided herself.Sure, it was hot as hell and the hands down the best orgasms I’ve had in years, if not ever, but don’t go letting yourself get confused by it. He broke your dry spell, nothing more.
It sounded good. Logical, even. But Nyota had one little problem.
She didn’t believe herself.
Regardless, Korvin carried on with his preparations.
By the end of the second day, with the magistrate’s assistant making the right introductions and ensuring a fair price, Korvin had arranged for the acquisition of nearly all the tools and equipment he felt he would need for the rescue attempt. Many, but not all, were neatly laid out on the bed in his chambers, where he had been carefully going over what to do and what not to do with his human tag-along.
Surprisingly, he had only requested a few knives and a small pistol, though Nyota knew size could be deceiving when it came to guns. A small one could kill you just as much as a big one could.
“Nothing larger?” she asked as he examined the small gun, her eyes briefly flitting to the outline of his manhood tucked in his trousers along with the blade now fitted to his hip.
“If the magistrate is correct in her initial assessment and the downed segments of the Raxxian ship are indeed in hostile territory, then we will not wish to make any undue noise. Weapons tend to produce the opposite effect of what we desire.”
“Yeah, but if we’re out-gunned—”
“Then I will acquire one from our adversaries. Hearing the sound of their own weapons will usually not raise much suspicion, if any. Use of another type, however, will. Keep this foremost in your mind. Stealth is our greatest asset until there is no other option. Do not let the enemy know you are there until it is too late.”
She realized he was talking about the basics of guerilla warfare. It was something she’d barely paid attention to in history class her senior year in high school when Mr. Dunlop, a veteran and military history buff who had wound up teaching history to a bunch of unruly kids somehow, would delve into details of the events they studied that weren’t in their books.
One of those tidbits was something he’d said about the Vietnam war. How it was the first real conflict where you didn’t have clear-cut adversaries. Worse, there was no visibility to speak of in the jungle. As a result, every little thing could make or break a mission, from noticing a sandal print in the mud instead of that of a boot, to smelling the different sweaty body odor different sides of the conflict gave off due to their drastically differing diets, down to the sound of their weapons fire.
It was during that war that some of the special forces teams began carrying the enemy’s weaponry. Not only did it make securing additional ammunition easier as they simply took it from those they killed, but the guns they employed also had a very distinct sound belonging to their adversaries, and for that reason it didn’t raise an alarm when heard close to their locations.
And now, it seemed Korvin was thinking along those same lines. If they couldn’t fly all the way into hostile territory to save the day, he would have to do it the old-fashioned way on foot.
Nyota eyed the additional wicked looking knives he had laid out beside their sheaths and shuddered. If things went the way she was afraid they would, there would be violence, and it would be ugly.
