Ka'Cit's Haven: A Sci-fi Alien Romance (Riv's Sanctuary Book 3), A.G. Wilde [surface ebook reader TXT] 📗

She ignored him.

“It doesn’t hurt. I—”

She gave him such a sharp look that the words died on his lips.

As he watched her rip the fabric into a thin band, he became speechless.

He tried to pull his hand away, but he could admit it was a weak attempt because she promptly grabbed it, shot him a look that told him to stay still, and placed it on her leg again.

Ka’Cit fought to breathe past the lump forming in his throat.

She was tending to him. In this situation? Even when he was sure she was terrified to bits, worried out of her mind, she was taking the time to tend to him?

“Nee-ya…” he whispered almost inaudibly.

She was kneeling between his legs and he without his mask, he could scent her now.

It was a delicious sweet scent that gave him the image of running his tongue across her skin just to test if that’s what she tasted like—sweet like the way she smelled.

He swallowed hard as he watched her, not wanting to move…not willing this moment to end…but at the same time…too afraid to feel.

15

“Your hand was bleeding this entire time. I can’t believe you didn’t notice.” Nia frowned at him, then paused.

Shit.

Her gaze met his.

He’d carried her through the dark tunnel, tried to calm her down, all while his hand was swollen and bleeding.

Blinking, she averted her gaze and refocused on his hand.

Though the blood had mostly clotted, the swelling was dark against his blue skin. He’d hit his hand against something hard.

She knew it wasn’t an old injury too. It was fairly new.

“Don’t worry, I’m a nurse,” she said in the silence. Somehow, she felt the need to speak even though she knew he couldn’t understand her. “Well, I was a nurse, you know, back where I’m from…Earth…but not a proper one, I suppose. I only worked at the free clinic in my neighborhood—not in a hospital or anything. I wasn’t doing it as a job per se. I didn’t need the money.” She let out a small laugh. “Not that I was rich, or anything, but Dad was smart with money. He’d made it so that I wouldn’t have to work or depend on any man, ever. I was lucky. So after I left nursing school, I worked at the free clinic a few days a week. I did it because…well…the people needed help. Healthcare can be expensive if you don’t have insurance where I’m from.” She huffed another short laugh through her nose. “A good old bleeding heart like my father. He is like that too.”

She glanced at Ka’Cit..

He was watching her with that intense gaze of his again and she had to look away, otherwise she’d forget that she was staring.

She focused on tending to his hand. She only had the makeshift bandage; she couldn’t do much, but she hoped it would help.

“He went to Syria, you know. My dad. Some years ago. Fought there. He was lucky to return but when he came back, he’d…changed, you know.” She glanced at the alien again. He was listening to every word she said, as if he could understand her, and that thought was comforting. She hadn’t spoken to anyone about her life back on Earth. At least, not the intricate details.

Lauren and Cleo knew she’d been a nurse and that she’d done a lot of community work. That was about it.

Ka’Cit was silent so she assumed he didn’t mind her continuing.

“I remember when he came back. It was like looking into the eyes of a stranger. It took a while for him to…return, if you know what I mean. But when he did come back, mentally I mean, he started volunteering. Building houses in the neighborhood for free. Helping single mothers with their kids, like taking them to school and such. He did a carpool. And then, eventually, he started the after-school club. The kids loved him. They looked up to him. Wanted to be a soldier like him. So he taught them what he could. Like martial arts, discipline, and what it took to be a soldier. The boys looked up to him the most. It gave them something to do after school and their mothers knew they were safe. And it gave my dad some purpose again. I think…I think after Syria he realized just how short life was. He saw his friends die. He wanted it to matter more.”

Nia cleared her throat and shook her head. God, why was she ranting? She didn’t even tell the animals on the Sanctuary about her past and they could listen to her for ages.

A blush warmed her cheeks as she looked up at him.

Those green eyes of his felt like they could strip her bare.

“I’m almost done. Not much I can really do down here without supplies. You’re just lucky it doesn’t seem to be infected.”

He made a sound in his throat.

Then he opened his mouth as if to say something then closed it.

“What? Tell me, what were you going to say? I can understand you, remember?”

He opened his mouth again then stopped.

He didn’t even wince when she began wrapping the wound. Her cloak had an inside layer and she was using that part. It was the cleanest bit she could find.

“I guess you’re wondering what did this to my hand…” His words brought her head up.

“Well…yea…but you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

He seemed to be trying to determine what she’d just said.

“Yes,” she nodded, “tell me.”

He understood the nod, she realized, because he began speaking. “Some poor Niftrill got in my way when I jumped down through the hatch.”

Nia paused and looked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. So, that’s how he got into the ship? He’d snuck on board.

“Phekking Niftrill was going to talk. I had no choice but to quiet him.”

Nia shook her head, a smile finding its way to her lips.

“I really didn’t,” he said. His voice held not one ounce of regret.

That made her chuckle.

Something told her that