Sohut's Protection: A Sci-fi Alien Romance (Riv's Sanctuary Book 2), A.G. Wilde [13 ebook reader TXT] 📗

The little wild thing was a liar.

Her gaze wandered and fell on the food packet.

She wanted it.

“Take some.”

Pale eyes blinked at him and he shoved the food toward her once more. He could see the mental battle in her eyes.

Leaning forward slightly, she took a begrudging bite of the sluu dough and chewed.

Her lips moved so delicately as she chewed that he sat staring at her for far too long.

It wasn’t only her scent that was captivating.

Regardless of her efforts to make herself invisible, she was catching his attention at every turn.

She seemed to notice his gaze and her frown returned as she jerked away.

“I know you can’t understand me, but this doesn’t make us friends.”

No, it didn’t; but it was a great phekking start.

11

The blue guy was sleeping.

Or maybe he was pretending to sleep.

Studying him now, his back turned toward her, she glanced at the jungle beyond.

She could shuffle away but glancing at her hands, she gulped.

That would be stupid.

Plus, he hadn’t hurt her yet.

He’d been…kind so far.

If she escaped now, she wouldn’t have use of her hands till she managed to get this alien rope off. It wasn’t like normal rope at all and she was sure rubbing the bands against a sharp rock wouldn’t break them.

Maybe that’s why the blue guy, Grout, had fallen asleep.

He was sure she wasn’t going to be stupid enough to run off.

It wasn’t the first time aliens had thought she wasn’t stupid enough to do something…only, this time, this alien might just be right.

Sighing, she settled her back against the vines running upward against the rock.

Her belly wasn’t empty, thanks to the food he’d shared, but she was thirsty.

She’d been hesitant at first but his food was like cake, only doughier.

After a year of eating meat, having a pastry had been like having a piece of heaven.

Licking her lips at the thought of the food, she eyed the rock pool in front of them.

The reflection of the light on the water reminded her of that time her father had left her in the wilderness alone.

She’d found a small stream and had stayed by it on the second night. It’d just been her, the silence of the forest, and the reflection of the moonlight against the flowing water.

It’d been such a serene feeling back then, just her and nature.

She didn’t feel so serene now.

There was discomfort, anxiety, distrust, and a myriad of other feelings circling within her but no serenity.

The alien seemed nice. She wanted to trust him but dropping her guard so soon could lead to her detriment.

Eyeing the water, she tried to stand but all she could manage was a shuffle.

She guessed it would do. She wasn’t going far anyway.

She could shuffle to the pool edge and dip her head in to get a drink.

Luckily, it was moving water, so she didn’t have to worry about it being dirty.

That meant she could even bathe in the rock pool and the water would be clean again not long after she stepped out of it.

Shuffling forward, Cleo cursed underneath her breath.

She was definitely going to rip the few threads still holding her clothing together.

She’d tried to fashion clothes from the leaves in the jungle but she’d yet to find something that didn’t itch to high heaven and which lasted more than a week.

She’d actually found a plant that molded itself like cotton and she’d thought she’d found her solution, only to wake the next morning with a rash over her entire body.

Even in space, she wasn’t safe from allergies.

The rash had only lasted a few days but in that time she’d almost torn her skin off just to stop the itching and resultant burning.

From then, she’d been careful to leave the plants mostly alone.

Who knew what else she was allergic to? She didn’t need to die of poison, an allergic reaction, or stupidity.

Cleo snorted to herself.

One could argue she was going to die of the last one anyway, judging from her actions over the last day.

Finally reaching the water’s edge, Cleo took a moment to catch her breath.

She’d made it.

Dipping her head over the water, her lips touched the cool liquid and she took in a huge gulp.

As she raised her neck to swallow the liquid, she choked.

There was little warning.

All she felt was a huge thump as her heart flipped in her chest when a shadow blocked the light. It moved so quickly, she hardly had time to react.

As strong arms grasped her shoulders, Cleo bucked, her fight or flight response activating immediately as her heart lodged in her throat.

She barely heard a grunt as her feet connected with the attacker and, in a second, she realized it was the blue alien that had come at her.

Grout.

But it was too late to stop what was already happening.

Frickin’ Grout was attacking her.

Her body was off-balance, his weight on hers pushing her over and she was falling.

Wide eyes met green ones as they both crashed into the rock pool. They went under, sinking quicker than her mind could keep up and understand what was happening.

The water she’d been swallowing was stuck in her throat and she hadn’t been able to take a breath before going under. Not to mention that he was still holding on to her.

Was he trying to drown her?

Thrash as she might, she couldn’t release the strong arms around her and terror filled her as the glow of the alien lamp grew dimmer, its glow fading the deeper they went.

The rock pool was deep. She’d only dived in it once, but she knew that there was no way she was reaching the surface if he didn’t let her go.

Who knew, maybe he could frickin’ breathe underwater and knew she couldn’t.

Not her enemy, her ass.

This was why she didn’t trust aliens. Even the ones that seem good and feed you can turn on you in a second.

Using both legs like a mermaid would, Cleo kicked, aiming for his balls and hoping he had two big ones so she