DIONNE

As I sit next to him, watching the beautiful clear water and the multicolored trees that seem to whisper, I realize that for the first time, I'm in true danger. Because this place is peaceful and the half naked man beside me is tempting me to set this forest on fire by giving into my desire.

I'm attracted to the powerful alien that wrung Trey like a doll.

It's not just his massive pectorals that call for me to flatten my face against them, or the thick biceps that challenge me to test if both of my hands can circle them, or the perfect squares on his abdomen that are like blocks in a city I want to travel.

I'm attracted because he's kind. Although I still have a headache from the drug he gave me, and he assaulted the man I formerly dreamed of marrying, and he flashed me his cocks, things could have been worse without him.

Besides, the flashing was more a gift than anything else. I'm certainly not complaining.

Does he feel the same attraction, as illogical as it is? I mean, he practically declared it when he said he "wants me." Or perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself and reading too far into it. We are aliens to each other, after all. Maybe asking if someone is married and telling them you want them is a way of offering friendship on this planet.

I run a hand down my face, exhausted. I don't do well when I have nothing to do. My hands are used to being busy. As clumsy as I can be, I feel whole whenever I'm working on a project. But this big guy is telling me to sit back and wait to be rescued, so the only thing I have for entertainment are my dangerous feelings.

Well, I guess I should straighten things out with Trey.

" I would like to return, please."

I need to get off this log. While my feet are cooled by the water, the rest of me is overheating because I'm sitting next to the handsome, muscular guy.

I rub my chin— the last place he touched me at, as I find the courage to look at him. "What's your name?"

"Vadnar."

His name shouldn't make goosebumps scatter across my skin, but here I am, stuck between hot and cold. Between attracted and cautious.

I clear my throat. "Thanks for everything, Vadnar. I'd like to speak with Trey now."

He frowns, either because I mentioned Trey or because my tone has become distant. I'm treating him like a coworker and not the sexy heart-throb that he is.

He swings me into his arms without asking, unwilling to put a wall up like I did. This time, I'm not as reluctant to be in his embrace. This time, I subtly press my ear against his bare chest and wonder how his soothing, rumbling voice would sound.

"Speak with the boy," he instructs before setting me down. "I will wait out here, and then I will take you home to clarify some things."

He knows Trey isn't a boy, but sticks to the nickname.

"I really can't stay here with him?"

He crosses his massive arms, and that's the end of that. I really wish he put on his shirt, because with those abs on display, speaking both English and Zolan is becoming increasingly difficult.

"Trey?" I call out in English as I peek into the shed.

He's slumped against the wall, scowling. His hand rubs his chest, which probably aches from the punch. Something tells me to be grateful because that punch was a love tap compared to what Vadnar's true potential.

"Did he tell you how to get the fuck off this backward place or not?"

I sigh and kneel beside him. "No. He's as shocked about us being here as we are. Let me see the injury."

"I'm fine, it will just bruise. And how did you learn his language overnight? Did you fix the—"

"No," I reply, clenching my hands at the reminder of my failure. "He gave me some magical pill. Something straight out of a movie."

"So if he's a damn magician, can't he open a portal for us?" He winces. "Fuck him if you have to, Dee. Whore yourself to get us out of here and I'll pay you when we get home."

I flinch. "Fuck him to use him?

Trey rolls his eyes. "Come on, he's red and ugly but you have to do this for us. After all the water buckets I carried, and the time I slept alone eating that disgusting dried meat, I need you to pull your weight."

My bitter, broken laugh fills the cabin. "Right, because I've only been sitting and looking pretty these past weeks."

He shrugs, and then winces.

I stand up and go outside, not wanting to hear another word. He'll survive with the food Vadnar gave him. I'm done doing his laundry and everything else around here.

Vadnar doesn't say a thing as we trek up to his house. The large, empty house that still manages to suffocate me whenever I'm in a room with him.

We enter, and he goes right for the fireplace. I'm not sure why he's setting a fire. Maybe he's cold.

I stand with my arms crossed over my chest, thinking how unfair all of this is. How my dear friend, Kira, accidentally launched Trey and I to the middle of nowhere. How I'm powerless here. How enticingly the hue of the flames dance on Vadnar's chest.

He pulls a stool next to the fire, and then points at it. It's like we're back to lack of communication.

I sit on the stool and enjoy the warmth of the fire as Vadnar clanks around in the kitchen. I'm not sure what he's doing, but I don't have much interest in finding out. Now that I've accepted that I'm stuck on this planet for the foreseeable future, I don't have much interest in anything.

Vadnar appears many minutes later, holding a bowl with shredded meat, and a long, red, squared vegetable or fruit.

"Eat," he says, and pulls a second stool beside me. He adds wood to the fire as I poke the food with my two-pointed wooden fork. I try the meat first. It's tender, but cold.

"I told you I would take care of you, but you must know that I'm on the run."

I nearly drop my fork. Who could he possibly be running from? The hoard of women that want to sleep with him?

Seeing my shock, he sighs. "I'm part of a cursed generation of males that enter an enhanced state of strength after rutting. We started appearing a decade ago as we aged into adulthood. We fuck, and become enraged. No one knows why this only affects some Zolanos, but we are not welcomed in society. Slavers have been capturing us, forcing us into the enraged state, and making gladiators out of us."

I set the fork down, my hunger gone. I thought I was misfortunate for being thrown on a foreign land, but Vadnar isn't welcome in his own world.

It really puts things in perspective.

"That's why you're alone on this farm?"

He nods. "I'm hiding, and I need to live quietly. You may stay with me, but I will not tolerate disobedience. It means life and death."

I've always been an independent woman, but he's asking me to set all my trust in his rough, calloused hands.

I don't know if I can do it.

He reaches out for me hesitantly. His hand cups the middle of my thigh, dwarfing it. He gives me a gentle squeeze before hastily pulling away. He's trying to comfort me, but I don't think he has a lot of experience with affection.

It takes me a while to finish my meal. Rain falls outside— so familiar that it's almost comforting. Vadnar is somewhere in the bedroom, likely making room for the human he now has to babysit.

He returns to collect my empty bowl, and his chest is now covered. That only sours my mood more.

"It is late. You must rest."

"Do you have a blanket I can toss on the floor?"

He shakes his head. "My bed will be enough for us both."

Us both? It's surprising that he wants us to share such intimacy, but then again, he nearly flashed his dicks again at the lake. Maybe Zolanos are less conservative than humans.

"Okay," I reply.

It's just a bed, and I can't possibly ask him to take the floor.

He inclines his head. "Go, and I will come in later."

"Where are you going?"

"Making final rounds around the perimeter."

He leaves and shuts the door behind him. I find my way into the bedroom. The blanket has been changed.

I settle against the wall, wishing there was a window in here so I could look at the moon. Because I sure as hell won't be getting any sleep tonight.

He returns an hour later, and silently steps into the bedroom. I hear a wet plop and realize he's changing out of his wet clothes.

My mouth dries, and when he lays beside me, his massive bicep touching mine, my heart races so the bed practically vibrates. I only wish it would rain harder to drown the sound.

—

That morning, he rises early. The sound of his boots hitting the ground awaken me from a light sleep.

I sit up, my hands instantly going to my hair which I know is everywhere. Vadnar is at the door when he glances back at me. "Meet me outside when you're ready. We have work to do."

As I fix my hair and straighten my clothes, I realize laundry is overdue.

Ignoring my hunger, I go outside and find Vadnar by the house with a shovel, digging. I meekly stand nearby and watch his muscles work.

He's like a machine. I didn't see any equipment on this farm, but I don't think it's needed when he's built like this.

"Here. Rip pieces and hand them to me." He pulls a roll of brown paper from his waistband and gives it to me.

I rip a piece as ordered, the sound covering my stomach's grumble. Vadnar buries the small paper slip.

"Is the paper a seed?" I ask.

"Yes."

Once we're done filling a few dozen holes, he straightens and retrieves a water pitcher for the seeds we buried. I watch as he drowns the first patch, and for the first time, I laugh.

Vadnar looks at me with surprise, still spilling water on the patch.

"Shouldn't we use a little less water?" I suggest.

He frowns and lifts the pitcher. "I am not good at farming."

He hands me the pitcher, and I carefully water every patch. When I'm done, I grin at our masterpiece, and raise a hand to high-five him.

Vadnar's arms have me entrapped in his embrace before I can blink.

My eyes fill with fear and confusion. Seeing this, he releases me.

"I apologize. It looked like you were about to strike me."

"I just— I wanted a high five. It's how we celebrate."

I palm my chest, where my heart rages. This man is an expert at raising my blood pressure.

He looks at his palm, and then lifts it. Cautiously, I reach out and slap our hands together. "Good job."

—

Over the next few days, Vadnar and I do little things together. Whenever he's distracted, I sneak bits of food to Trey. I haven't spoken to him, but I leave the food at his door because the guilt is eating at me.

Vadnar and I work efficiently and slowly learn about each other. The hardest part of the day is when we lay in the same bed, staring at the ceiling. At least that's what I do. I never have the courage to move, fearing I would lose contact with his warm, thick bicep.

Today, we're trimming down a tree— well, he's swinging the axe while I clean up nearby branches. I'm attacked by hiccups, which he found fascinating. When I hold my breath for a few seconds to stop them, he drops his axe and rushes over to high-five me.

He's determined to high-five me for every little thing I accomplish. I think he's trying to be respectful because he thinks high-fiving is religious to humans, and I don't have the heart to correct him. So he can high-five me all he wants.

I wonder what will happen when I introduce fist-bumping to the big guy.

I go inside to grab us cups of water. It's room-temperature, but good enough. We sit on the ground, the axe glinting under the sun's glare.

"You know, I used to get really bad hiccups when I was a kid. My mom..."

Stricken by sadness, I become quiet.

Vadnar clears his throat. "I forgot to tell you, but in my culture, it is standard to embrace the person you give your name to. I introduced myself days ago."

He wants to hug me, but is too bad-ass to say it, so he's making up this rule.

"Oh, well, I wouldn't want to be rude." I turn to face him, my lips now curved.

Vadnar sets his hands low at my back, the warmth striking. So many nights, I wondered what it would be like to be fully wrapped in him.

His hands lift, and his eyes flicker to my lips.

I over-heat. The water I just drank seems to evaporate in my belly. Does he want to kiss me?

He presses me closer, and leans in. Then, his hooded eyes flicker behind me, and he shoves me down before roaring and running, his axe tight in his fist.

I watch as eight strange men pour out of the forest.

Slavers.

They found us.