Page 18 of Surrender

She started shaking her head before he finished. “I cannot.”

His face darkened. One powerful arm shot out and, before she knew it, she was back over his lap, facedown. His broad palm connected with her bottom, igniting a fresh wave of heat on her stinging cheeks.

“By all the gods, I’ve never been confronted with such a spoiled, willful wench! I swear you’d rather see us both starve than lift a finger. Does everyone wait on you like a queen back on Earth?”

“Stop! Please – no more.” She lay limp over his lap, all the fight drained out of her. “It’s not that I won’t do my share,” she said, fighting back another flood of tears. “I don’t know how. I’ve never seen anyone cook a rabbit. I’ve never even touched one before. I have no idea how to begin – if I could even bring myself to touch the creature. The poor thing is so – sodead.”

He stopped in mid-swing. “What?”

Talia slid off his lap and huddled on the ground at his feet. She pointed to the hare then looked away, trying not to retch. “On Earth, we do not consume animal flesh.” Her voice broke. “Before coming to your planet, I had never seen death. Here, I stripped the cloak from my dear comrade Nelson while it was still warm from his blood. I stepped over severed body parts of the fallen lying in your streets. I watched Balam’s high priest cut the beating heart out of one of your warriors.”

She looked up at him, eyes bleak with misery. “I mean no disrespect, Your Highness, but I would sooner die myself than slice up that sad little creature.”

He stared down at her. “You don’t eat animals? How do you survive?”

“We eat balanced meals of…” She stopped. Their language had no words for synthetic protein or hydroponically raised fruits and vegetables cloned from the few plants that managed to stay alive until the domes were erected. “We eat a food-like substance our scientists create.”

Kylar wrinkled his brow, still perplexed. “No roast boar? No venison stew? No plum cake on the winter solstice?” He gave her body another of his frank appraisals. She lowered her eyes, embarrassed, as though she hadn’t been naked in front of him only hours ago.

“It’s a wonder you were able to grow into such a fine-figured woman. You could easily pass for a Viking maiden.” He shook his head. “I’m grateful my ancestors left your world when they did – and took the best of the livestock with them.”

He paused, looked at the hare then at her. “Well, then. Change of plans. I roasted many a hare on nights when there was no bigger game to be found in the forest. I’ll cook – and you can fetch wood. Surely you don’t mind touching dead tree branches?”

“Dead…trees? To be honest, I’ve never done that either.” She swallowed bravely. “As long as I don’t have to imagine them staring up at me with big sad eyes, I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t stray too far from the light of the fire.” He gave her a quick once-over, running his eyes up her bare legs to mid-thigh, where the tail of his shirt stopped. “You’re shivering like a newborn lamb. Would you like my trousers along with the shirt?”

He reached down to unfasten his belt.

“No!”

Talia knew she’d be unable to think of anything else all night if she got a glimpse of the hard cock she’d been fantasizing about ever since she first felt its heat.

Chapter Thirteen

“I mean… no, thank you,” she stammered, embarrassed by her thoughts as well as her outburst. “I’ll be fine. I’m just not used to the cold.”

“Do you not have cool nights on Earth anymore?”

“No.” Seeing the look of disbelief on his face, she hurried on. “Well, yes, we do. But we live inside huge shelters now, millions of people protected by enormous walls we can see through with ceilings high enough to cover buildings taller than the trees. So, we don’t feel the cold.”

“A strange world indeed.” He reached for the carcass of the hare. She turned away, unwilling to witness what would come next.

Talia scoured the ground near their campsite for fallen branches, loaded them into her arms then deposited them near the fire. After several trips, she’d collected a large pile of wood. He flashed her a warm smile. “That will do us well. I’ll put some stones near the flames, and we can tuck them around us for heat when the fire dies down.”

Kylar reached for a flask hanging on his belt. “Dinner will be ready soon. Meanwhile, I’d say we’ve earned a measure of this today.” He handed it to her.

She pulled out the stopper and sniffed the contents. Finally, something that didn’t reek. “What is it?” she asked suspiciously.

He took the flask out of her hands, had a long pull, and gave it back. “No dead animals in there. Only the seductive honey mead, made with the help of a hive of industrious bees. Try it.”

Talia raised the flask to her lips and took a sip. A burst of sweetness hit her tongue. She swallowed then gasped as liquid fire poured down her throat. It burned all the way to her belly.

He chuckled. “I’m guessing you’ve never tasted mead either. Next you’ll tell me Earthers don’t drink ale anymore. Have another sip. It will end those shivers.”

She took another sip. “So, this is what liquor tastes like.” She swallowed a mouthful then passed the flask back to him. “And you’re right. We don’t have ale on Earth. Or wine. Or any strong spirits. They were outlawed several hundred years ago, right around the time we quit having sex.”

The words slipped out before she could stop them. She giggled at the look of horror on his face then stopped when the sound echoed off the rocks.

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