The First She ✓

THIRTY FIVE

Their camp was empty within minutes. Kira sat on the ground with her cave-woman style dress that was tied on one shoulder, a pout on her lips, and a bracelet of red skin.

Whenever she tried to lift a finger, she got a slap on the wrist. The men refused to let her help, afraid that she would break. She tried to argue, but they were having none of it.

Hopefully, with time, they would come to realize that she wasn't as useless as she looked.

"Let us go," Vrox said. His extended hand was offering attention to her, but his face remained loyal to the sky. Grey clouds had colored Ni'ev's apprehension true. The storm looked just about ready to roar at them.

She picked up her purse and the lightweight cover Rokan had made. Once she grabbed Vrox's hand, the mixing of their warmth distracted him from the cool sky. He squinted at her as if she was another storm he couldn't figure out.

"Vrox, move. You can continue to eat the female after we get home."

Kyros' comment cracked a frown on Rokan's face.

"Eat her? What do you mean?"

Kyros flashed a playful smile. "I will tell you later."

With a disapproving shake of his head, Vrox opened his arms for her. "Come."

She tried to go around his body, intending on climbing on his back as she always did. Instead of giving her a piggyback ride, Vrox swept her up bridal style.

She blinked, taken off guard. "Don't you need your hands to be free?"

He crooked his head. "I want you close to my tremble. I can afford to keep my hands busy. We will be safe with the others."

His tremble?

As she wondered what he meant, she rested her head on his chest and tried to crack the code. It took her a few seconds to realize that the code was trying to crack itself out of Vrox's chest. His heart was seizing– going crazy for her.

She smiled, tipping her head aside to kiss his scaled bicep to thank him for sharing his 'tremble' with her.

"I would prefer if you deposited your mouth-mating on my face," he told her, not caring about adjusting his volume to hide his words from his brothers.

Kyros and Rokan turned back to face them, and she tossed her cloak over her head to hide.

A rumble rang through Vrox's chest, and it had nothing to do with his 'tremble.' The mischievous male was laughing at her.

They took off. Ni'ev was in the lead, carrying a leather sack full of weapons. Rokan and Kyros followed, holding their own sacks. They had left the containers of water behind, assuring that they had plenty of water in their home. Vrox tailed them, carrying nothing but her. She enjoyed being in his embrace, but couldn't wait to start using her own feet again.

When it was starting to get too hot under the cloak, she removed it from her head.

"Put it back on. The rain will start soon," Vrox warned.

"What about you?"

He gave her a smile. "I do not get ill from weather."

"Try jumping into lava and see if your sexy, young skin will remain healthy."

"Lava is not weather, female."

She spurted, knowing that he was right but having no intelligent retaliation. "I'm supposed to be the NASA engineer here. If you keep trying to steal my role, there will be no more mouth-mating for you."