Page 33 of Camriel
She knew she was rambling to herself.Her face was flushed, her heart was racing and it wasn’t from sprinting.There was an undeniable attraction between them.They had a weird chemistry, but he was an alien.She was almost sure of it.
“So much for my plan to find a nice, quiet place to spend the night,” she said as her heartbeat began to slow.She was a safe distance from the freeway in a rural area.Plenty of farmhouses were scattered around.Choosing one, she walked towards it, keeping her senses on full alert.
Cows mooed in the fields as they headed for their barn.Their udders were full and they sounded miserable without anyone left to milk them.Victoria found piles of clothing in the bedrooms when she did a quick search of the house.“Raptured,” she figured, spying fillings and a metal rod that must have been inserted to repair a broken bone lying on a bed.
Victoria stripped off in the bathroom and washed herself with bottled water.Her muscles rippled as she wiped her wound clean.“I’ll be as good as new soon,” she said, twisting from side to side to test how well she was healing.
Studying her upper half in the mirror, she hated how gaunt she was getting.Her face was thinner and there were hollows beneath her cheeks.She needed more than just canned fruit.She needed protein.
“I could go a big, juicy burger,” she complained, knowing that was an impossibility.It wasn’t like she could slaughter one of the cows and grill it.She’d already checked the pantry to see a wide variety of food on offer.
Returning to the kitchen after getting dressed, Victoria ate potted meat, making a face that she had to eat it cold.She immediately felt better, which indicated she definitely needed meat as well as fruit and vegetables.
She headed to the living room and saw trophies lined up in a cabinet.“Someone’s an archery champion,” she figured.A few photos showed a kid growing into a teenager, grinning proudly as he held his bows and trophies.“A bow could be useful,” Victoria said with a pleased smile.Guns weren’t her style, but she was good with a bow.One of her foster mothers had taught her how to shoot one when she’d been a kid.
She went hunting in the boy’s bedroom and found a case under his bed.Opening it, she found an expensive compound bow and a quiver full of arrows.
“Bingo,” she said in satisfaction, shouldering the weapon and returning downstairs.She was still rattled from the battle and wanted to stay close to the exits.Her backpack, duffle bag and weapons were within reach.Curling up on the couch, she drifted off into a light doze, ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
Her doze deepened into full sleep and she dreamed she was back in the small town again.Victoria watched herself sprint away, then froze the scene to move closer.Her rescuer had just stomped on the woman who’d nicked her ear.He was watching her flee from the scene with an expression she could only describe as devastated.
“Shiz, now I feel bad for leaving him alone to wipe them all out,” she said guiltily.
Stepping up until they were mere feet apart, Victoria examined his face closely.It was rare that she had to tilt her head back when dealing with others.Some of the male wrestlers were this guy’s size, or bigger, but not by much.
“Fudge me, this dude is smoking hot,” she murmured.Shifting her gaze to his eyes, she was glad to see they weren’t tinged with red.
For the second time in her life, someone she’d frozen in her dream broke free from her control.His eyes focused on hers and he spoke.“Mine,” he said in profound satisfaction, as if he’d just claimed her forever.
Victoria jerked awake and sat up with her heart pounding again.“I don’t belong to you, buddy,” she denied shakily.He had to be the same type of alien as the dude who’d called her his offspring, yet they seemed so different.She didn’t feel the same sense of evil coming from the hottie.If anything, he seemed noble.
“Yeah, right,” she said with a snicker.“He’s my knight in shining armor come to sweep me off my feet.”
Lying back down, it took her an hour to calm down enough to fall asleep again.
Chapter Nineteen
