Page 40 of Captured By The Alien Barbarian
“Why can’t I touch the flower?” I say, bristling with suspicion.
Taccit heaves a sigh. “You truly don’t know any of the dangers of our world. You are weaker than a youngling.”
“Excuse me? What exactly do you mean by that?” I snap, hands instinctively planted on my hips while I shoot him my best “how dare you” glare. I fume. How dare he treat me like some child!
“This is a lusnar vine, Nika,” he says. “Its pollen releases a toxin that paralyzes you. The scent lures prey in, from tiny critters to big beasts. Once you touch it, you find your limbs growing heavy, and soon you are unable to move. But it’s not so much the flower that’s the problem; it’s the predators that feast on the immobilized prey.”
I open my mouth to retort, but I have nothing to say. The wind has been promptly knocked out of my sails. I had absolutely no clue whatsoever about the lusnar flower. The deadly plant could have easily passed for an ordinary, beautiful flower.
Taccit swallows, clearly troubled.
“The beast that attacked you when I found you...” Taccit swallows heavily, as if the memory of that night is almost too painful to bear. It probably is. I only have a few brief impressions of those events, and they have plagued my nightmares since. “The shreem often nest near where these flowers grow heavily. It’s immune to the flower’s effects, feasting on its victims with ease.”
Well then...
My anger at Taccit is unfounded. As it dwindles away, I’m left feeling foolish and embarrassed. Sure, he could’ve given me a heads-up, but I guess he overestimated my ability to not touch shiny objects. Oops!
Taccit looks down at me, his face shuttered. I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve just disappointed him in the most embarrassing way.
With a shake of his head, he suddenly scoops me up bridal style. I squeal and throw my arms around his neck, frantically clinging to him.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“What does it look like? Since I can’t trust you to walk, I’m carrying you,” he replies, bouncing my not-so-light weight a few times in his arms to emphasize his point.
“I can walk. I’ll just never touch anything pretty ever again. I promise,” I say, giving his stubborn face a mini-death stare. In the future, I’m going to steer clear of anything remotely interesting looking. On this planet, chances are it will kill me.
“I cannot make the same promise,” Taccit laughs. “You are just as dangerous as the lusnar flower. Resisting the urge to throw you down and ravish you like a wild beast is taxing.”
My cheeks heat at his very blatant words. I squirm as a responding ache begins to pulsate.
He presses his face against my hair, sniffing deeply. “You smell irresistible, better than any flower, and I’m pretty sure you’d taste just as sweet. But my mate wishes to trade for things, and I will give her everything this world has to offer. So I will have to settle with having your arms around me like this since this is the only way if we are to continue traveling.”
Opening my mouth to reply, all I can manage is a flounder-like gasp. Words? What are those? Sweeping my hair back from my sticky forehead, I save my breath for another, less ravishing-related conversation. “When you get tired, I’ll walk. Deal?”
Of course, the brute just grunts in response, his hand giving my thigh a reassuring squeeze.
* * *
Taccit makes traversingthe hilly landscape seem like a breeze, effortlessly carrying both me and his bag as if it’s nothing. Soon, the stream expands and merges with others, forming a mini cascading creek.
He ducks under branches gracefully, including several needle trees that have me tucking in my limbs in fear of accidental scratches. Not once do the ominous leaves come close to touching me.
Needle trees look like your average pine tree, but their leaves are razor sharp—exactly like needles. It didn’t take long for the colony to start referring to them as such. They were the bane of my existence for a while, since they dotted my allocated farm area. I could never walk around barefoot in fear of stepping on a wayward leaf.
We pass a cluster of trees, and suddenly the world blossoms around us. My breath catches as the creek melds into a vast river. The sun’s rays play upon the water, creating a mesmerizing sparkle. Towering grasses, tinted in pale hues, line the river’s edge and its iridescent blues and greens shimmer like a mirage. Trees crowd the banks, teasing the water with lazy vines and branches. A cacophony of vibrant birds and enigmatic animal sounds fills the air, an orchestra of unfamiliar tunes.
This place is stunning, and my heart aches to think that many humans might never lay their eyes on this heavenly world. It’s an even more sobering thought when many of the humans at the colony have never had a chance to see this.
“It’s beautiful,” I say, wiggling a little for Taccit to finally set me back on solid ground. He lowers me ever so gently, my body sliding against his. His arms hold me close, seemingly reluctant to let me go. And for just a heartbeat in time, I think he’s going to kiss me.
I clear my throat, taking a step back to create much-needed personal space. I’m still grappling with my overwhelming attraction to this extraterrestrial.
He pivots and wades into the shallows of the river bank, pushing aside tall reeds. He turns back with a grin that has my heart skipping. He looks perfect in this moment.
Then he ruins it by slamming his tail into the surface, splashing water everywhere. And I mean everywhere. A veritable cascade of water splashes in all directions, leaving no pebble unsoaked.
I squeal and hop away, narrowly avoiding the chilly droplets plunging from the heavens.
