Ajos: The Restitution - A Sci-fi Alien Romance, Book 1, стр. 5
Ajos jerked his head in confirmation. He trusted V’Alen. His comrade had resources he didn’t, and he was sure V’Alen was right.
"The signal," V’Alen suddenly said, "it has stopped."
Ajos met his friend’s gaze.
“Since when?”
“Since just a moment ago.”
"Is everything all right?" The human with the pale filaments, Athena, rushed over. Her gaze locked on the female in his arms.
"Is she…"
The female was so limp in his arms, he knew exactly what Athena was thinking.
"She lives.”
Athena released a breath.
“Thank God,” she said. “So far, we’ve had no casualties.”
Xul moved up behind his mate, his gaze set on V’Alen.
"The signal?" he asked.
"It has ceased."
Their gazes crossed, and Ajos saw the unease in the back of the commander's eyes.
"Maybe it was just an alarm because we broke into the hold?" his mate asked.
"Maybe," the commander replied, but his gaze said something else.
They all knew—him, V’Alen, the commander—the signal was much more than a simple alarm.
It was a beacon.
As soon as they cleared out the humans, they had to deal with whatever the signal had hailed.
It should strike fear into him, but this was the life he had chosen—or rather, the life the gods had chosen for him.
Turning his attention back to the female in his arms, Ajos was vaguely aware of the others moving off to help the rest of the rescued humans.
It felt as if he was in another space as he looked down at the small creature cradled against him.
His gaze moved over the female’s pale skin to land on the streaked filaments that fell across her face. They were a mixture of light strands mixed in with dark ones, a bit wavy, and falling down her shoulders.
His people were fur-less, but it seemed all humans possessed a mass of filaments on their crowns, based on the few he’d met.
Tentatively, he moved a finger forward to brush the strands away from the female’s face.
A small mouth was revealed, resting underneath an even smaller, pointed nose.
She didn’t resemble Nama in the least…yet…the look that had been in her eyes…
That memory was burned into his brain.
Running a finger across the female’s cheek, Ajos brushed away a few more stray strands and gazed upon the female.
Her skin felt like flower petals underneath his fingertips. Soft and easily broken.
He’d never touched a human before to realize this. Were they all this soft?
He was almost afraid to touch her. A delicate creature she was…
Sure, he’d been around the other humans that had been rescued first, long before they’d been able to open the stasis hold, but never had he been this close to one.
They were all mated, after all; betrothed to other members of the Restitution, and he would never disrespect his brothers in such a way.
One of them was even carrying a fighter’s young.
The female’s breaths picked up a little and Ajos released the tension that had set his shoulders rigid.
His throat moved as he swallowed hard, unaware that he’d been holding himself so rigidly, waiting for some sign of life within the female’s limp form.
Her mouth opened slightly with a breath and as Ajos removed the transparent breathing apparatus, he found himself tensing for a whole other reason.
She was beautiful. Perfectly formed and delicate.
It had been many moons since he’d been this close to a female, even one of his kind. He had not allowed himself the pleasure.
To be holding one so close now…
Something stirred within him, but now was not the time.
He should put her down.
She would wake soon and probably scream in terror if she found herself in his arms.
However, as he made to move, a soft voice had him frozen mid-motion.
“Don’t leave me.”
Ajos’ eyes widened, his gaze moving to the female’s lips.
She’d spoken. He was sure of it.
“Don’t leave me…please.”
A plea.
Ajos blinked, his gaze moving from the female to the chaos around them.
He should put her down. But…
Eyes falling back to the female, he settled on his haunches, his gaze moving over her features.
More strands of her strange filaments had fallen over her face, and he brushed them away with his finger.
She was soft. Warm.
He could stay for a little while.
Maybe he could hold her for just a bit longer.
3
She should have known something was out of the ordinary when she twisted in her sleep and encountered hardness.
“Goddamnit,” Kerena mumbled, her voice muffled by the hard thing she was pressed against.
Blasted mahogany.
She had to get rid of this old chest of drawers. It had been a mistake putting it so close to her bed.
Somehow, she always managed to hit her head against it when she had particularly restless nights, and this was one of those nights.
Annoyed, she tried to snuggle farther into the warmth so she could return to sleep.
Her sheets smelled good. Like fresh winter air. So much so that she inhaled deeply and groaned.
Well, she had used that new fabric softener she’d bought. She’d have to look at the scent and write it down.
She’d been in such haste as the supermarket, she’d just grabbed the nearest bottle.
But whatever it was, this scent was utterly relaxing.
Snuggling farther into the warmth, Kerena stretched out her arm for her blanket, but her fingers grasped air.
Kerena groaned.
No doubt Cindy Clawford had pulled it off her in the night.
Her Maine Coon had the attitude of a supermodel—hence her name—and she seemed to be of the idea that the double bed was hers and that Kerena was the one who had the habit of sleeping in it.
That darned cat.
The bed was warm, but the air felt chilly. She needed that blanket! She wanted to snuggle and get a few more minutes in before she had to head to work.
Note to self: Lock the bedroom door before you go to sleep. DO NOT open it! No matter how Cindy begs and paws at the door at five A-frickin’-M. You are the boss! Not the cat!
The sound of screams and a lot