Page 32 of Captured By The Alien Barbarian
Taccit shifts his weight from one foot to the other, looking every bit like a young boy who wants to be praised. Underneath his hopeful expression, I see a trace of fear in his eyes.
“Is this what you wanted? Did I get it right?”
“How in the world did you get these?” I crane my neck to look up at him, still dumbfounded.
He stands tall, proud. “The human settlement. I knew you missed your garden. I scoured the area to find these and though I attempted to gather more, I was spotted by a member of your tribe. I would have stayed to fight, but I don’t know who you consider a friend so...” He trails off.
With trembling hands, I pull open the drawstring and nearly fumble the bag in the process. Taccit reaches out and holds the bottom of the bag, making it less awkward for me to peer inside. And what do I find? Adorable little plastic-sealed pouches filled with rare seeds imported from the motherland herself, Earth.
“Taccit... I...” I say, tears welling up. I slap my hands over my mouth, unsuccessfully stifling a sob.
Taccit’s brows raise, and he looks momentarily panicked. “Did I do something wrong?”
I shove the bag aside and throw myself into his arms. My face gets smushed against his chest, probably slathering me in his dried blood. But who cares at this point? My arms snake around his waist, squeezing the life out of him. I cling like I’ve never clung before.
The last time I held onto someone this fiercely was my little sister on the day I left Earth. I loved her with everything I had. Dare I say... am I falling head over heels for Taccit too? No one has ever managed to worm their way into my heart like this. No one has ever cared so much for my happiness. My late-husband? Yeah, gifts weren’t his thing. In fact, making an effort to make me happy in general was like pulling teeth. Our marriage? Think business transaction, not one of friendship or love.
Taccit’s hands start gently taming my hair before giving my back a reassuring rub. “Nika? Talk to me, please.”
Suddenly, the absurdity of my life hits me, and laughter bubbles up, taking over.
“I’m okay. I swear, I’m okay.” I ease back just enough to lock eyes with his worried yet oh-so-gorgeous gaze. I gently cradle his cheeks in my hands, holding his attention. “Next time, don’t go acting like a fool. Rushing in like that... you could have died, Taccit. No gift is worth your life.”
On impulse, I give him a quick peck of a kiss.
Taccit’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets before a sly, devilish smirk overtakes his kissable lips. Uh-oh. I may have just given him some wild ideas.
“Oh, my mate. Your affection was worth every bit of being a fool.”
ChapterNine
TACCIT
Ihadn’t meant to startle my little mate when I emerged from the forest. In my defense, I hadn’t even realized she had left the cave.
I want to berate her for leaving without me at her side to keep her safe. The thought of my little mate sprawled across my lap, my hand punishing her, makes my cock throb urgently.
Still, the logical part of my brain reminds me that I can’t keep her prisoner forever. Never being able to leave the cave would be a terrible existence, and I want my little Nika to experience the best of everything I can possibly offer her.
I do not deny my mate the chance to check over my wounds, slight as they are. Her hands hover over me, gently tugging and touching in a show of affection and concern. And I soak it up. It’s been so long since anyone has shown me this level of care, and I won’t deny that I miss it.
When her affection turns to distress at examining my wound, I gently take hold of her hands and pull her into my arms. “It’s only a little bit of blood, my mate.”
I bury my face in my mate’s hair as she wiggles and pushes against me. I breathe deeply, hoping to soak in her scent, but all I smell is my own blood.
On reflection, it was probably foolish to have rushed home so quickly. The trail of blood could bring beasts out for the hunt. While I can easily kill those creatures, I have to remember that my little mate could still be easily hurt by one. My Drolv aren’t the only ones in the area, and there are plenty of other predators that could easily go undetected until it’s too late.
“Come,” I step away from Ariana. “I want to see what you do with these seeds. I know you do not want to wait.”
“But...” Ariana’s gaze flicks to my soiled garments.
I shrug. The pain from the wound is already dulling, thanks to my healing medicine. I shouldn’t have used it so freely, but I didn’t want to return home to my Ariana gravely wounded. Besides, now that I’ve used it once, it isn’t so hard to use it again. No doubt discussing the events that occurred to me as a youngling has helped ease me into accepting the medicine again.
“You said that this farming required digging in the dirt, yes?” I ask her. “It wouldn’t make sense to get clean before doing your activity.”
Eventually, Ariana nods. She shyly leads me to where the Maklabar trees grow. After asking permission to grow plants here, she quickly places her bag of seeds aside and begins pulling up the small ground plants.
“I do not understand. We pull up the plants, so that we can grow more plants?”
