kill for you,
either.”
Chapter 12
Ryder
turned and looked at her ashen face, a mere spot of white against the deepening
shadows of the room. His decision had not come easily. Saba gathered her wits,
and her breath, for a small explosion. He sensed it in the air between them. He
held up his hand. Her mouth dropped open then snapped closed.
Now she
was pissed.
“Now
before you go jumping to conclusions, hear me out.”
“Hear you
out! You worthless piece of…of…of…” She sputtered to a halt, and Ryder knew if
he so much as twitched, she’d probably crack his skull with a piece of pottery.
“Saba,
listen to me.” He spied the wine bottle, picked it up, and carried it to the
bed. Gods, the back of his legs felt tight, as if the muscles had been
stretched on a rack then allowed to snap back to their proper length.
He
uncorked the bottle, took a swig, then handed it to her. She didn’t disappoint
him, swilling down several swallows before setting the bottle out of his reach.
Ryder eased onto the edge of the bed and held his hand out to her.
“Will you
hear me out now?” He leaned back onto the pillows with her when she nodded,
coaxing her to lay her head on his shoulder, then pulling her closer.
She
needed to understand he couldn’t simply kill another sentient being without
being convinced there was no other option. It went against his nature. And he
was sure the errol was intelligent.
“Tyree
and I spoke for a long time and we touched on many things. He told me of how
the errol came to be here and how the Ramalho feared I would be another
since I arrived in the same way. He also told me no one has actually seen the
creature up close, but it walks upright, like a man.” He tugged on the blanket
to cover his legs. She snatched at it as it uncovered her rump. They jostled
for a more comfortable position where they could share the blanket.
“Saba, I
fear the errol is no more than a
being, not unlike myself, whose spaceship crashed here. What if he’s from a
place where the language is so different you just can’t understand?”
“I do not
care! He has killed so many of us! Never once did he try to make friends with us.
Not once.”
“You call
it ‘he’ and not ‘it.’ Did you know that?”
“What
does Tyree think of your decision? Tell me that!”
Of course
she’d cut straight to the heart of things. It was one of the things he found so
interesting about her.
“I’ve not
told Tyree. Not exactly, anyway.”
Saba
pushed away from him, anger blazing in her eyes.
“What
does that mean?” Her lips pursed in a most delectable way. “Just tell me and
don’t try to act funny.”
“Angel.
You’re upset with me.” He pointed to the wine. “Take another drink.”
“I think
I will.” She snatched up the bottle and lifted it to her lips. He grabbed it on
the fourth swallow.
“Save me
some, will you?” He took a drink. There wasn’t much left so he finished it. She
did have more, after all, and he knew where it was stashed. He put the empty bottle
on the floor then gathered her into his arms again. She resisted, pushing
against him.
“We had
an agreement!” She kicked at his legs. “You will honor it!”
He
tightened his hold on her. “I will honor it. But I’ll do it the way I deem best
for all involved. That includes me.”
“You…you…”
She was squirming, trying to get out of his grasp. All she succeeded in doing
was rubbing her breasts against him so delightfully his penis took notice, and
Ryder started to believe maybe he’d be able to take her again.
Thank
you all the gods of the universe.
“Son of a
bitch? Mother fucking cocksucker? Piece of shit? I’ve been called all sorts of
things, angel.” He took another deep breath. “But murderer isn’t on my resume
and I don’t want it there.” His hold on her slipped.
“I was
going to call you taog dung!” Her fist struck the center of his chest.
“Nice
love tap, angel. I’ll just roll over and you
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