Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Raine broke away from the kiss when her oxygen-deprived lungs couldn’t take it anymore.
“It’s a good thing you are half Martian and half Viking; I don’t think I could handle either of you full-blooded.” Raine couldn’t prevent the spike of curiosity her teasing rose in her mind. “Just as a matter of curiosity, I wonder which of you enjoys sex the most. I think it’s the Martian,” she mused.
“Neinn. The Viking part of me is never satisfied.” Skars gave her slow smile. “It’s the Martian side of me that lets me keep giving … over … and over …”
Chapter 33
Raine
For a wedding day that had started out rocky, overall, she was more than satisfied with the way the day had ended. Except for one thing.
Raine raised up on her elbows to stare down at the floor. “Is he dead? He hasn’t moved since you set him down.”
“She’s sleeping.” Skars didn’t raise his head from the bed.
“She’s not staying.”
“She’s staying,” Skars argued, rolling over to press on a mark on his arm. Raine had learned this was how they communicated with each other when it was important. They had their own built-in message system, which their AI translator would relay to their brain.
“She doesn’t have any hair,” Raine complained.
“She does, but she ate something she’s allergic to, and it made her hair fall out. It’ll grow back.”
“You can bring her back when it grows back. Are you sure it isn’t dead?”
“She’s sleeping.”
How could he tell? The blue color of the animal looked unreal. At first, she had thought it was black, but the longer she stared at it, the more she realized it was blue when she had moved around it to get a better look. As far as she could tell, it had no ears or nose, but when it did raise its head, she had seen the pure beauty of its grey eyes.
“She looks like she wants to eat me.”
“She only eats plants.”
“There’s one plus,” she groused.
“She’s also very affectionate once she gets used to you.”
Raine felt Skars jump off the bed to grab clothes out of his chest.
“Where are you going?”
The hairless whatever-it-was saw Skars moving around the room. When he came close to it, in a quick movement, it grabbed the bottom of Skars’ pants and scurried up his body to rest on his shoulder.
Hell no! Raine screamed to herself that thing wasn’t staying. Her friends would love it. She didn’t want to hurt Skars’ feelings by re-gifting it, but its gray eyes were giving her the same glare Milly had.
“Thorsen just messaged me that Ulf and Tayla escaped Volzon. Thorsen sent men to get them, but the grones are trying to get to them first.”
Raine jumped out of bed to get clothes for herself. “I’m coming with you.”
“Neinn.”
“I am. I’m not going to argue—”
“You know how I told you that some species from outer space don’t eat humans?” Skars pulled his shirt on.
“Yeah …?” Raine paused putting on her pants.
“Yeah …” Skars mimicked her. “They do.”
Raine let her pants slip to the floor, going back to bed. “Have a safe trip.”
Epilogue
RAINE
“Where are we going?” Skipping to keep alongside Skars as they left the elevator, Raine was surprised to see he was taking her to the lower level where the nejim were.
Waving his hand, the hood raised, and Raine hopped in place when she realized they were leaving the ship.
“You’re letting me go down with you?” she asked excitedly.
“Já.” Grinning, Skars pressed a kiss on her lips. “I thought you deserved a treat after last night.”
Her excitement vanished. Last night had been rough. Skars had taken her to talk to her brother, at his request. It had been the first time he had asked to speak to her since Noah’s arrival on Skars’ ship the week before. The meeting between them had been short and brief, with Skars making her leave when Noah’s brewing anger had found the outlet he had been searching for.
Raine looked down at her slippers, blinking back tears. “He hates me.”
Skars hooked an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. “For now.”
“Forever.” Raine laid her head on his chest.
“Neinn. He will get over it with time. They had two months of rations left. He is angered because you took the control out of his hands. He asked Thorsen to see the navigation room this morning. He will come around.”
Raine gave a hiccupping laugh. “He always did love computers.”
Skars tilted her head back. “We are going to forget him for the rest of the day. I have a present for you.”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “It’s not another crinda, is it?”
“Neinn.” Shaking his head, Skars laughed at her. “They don’t do well with two in the household.”
“I wonder why,” she scoffed, climbing onto the nejim.
The small animal was a complete diva. It didn’t even want her in the room, preferring to keep Skars’ attention to herself. Raine felt the same way, which was why the two were developing a hearty dislike for each other.