Barbarian's Touch: A SciFi Alien Romance (Ice Planet Barbarians Book 8) by Ruby Dixon Page A
Authors: Ruby Dixon
Ads: Link
at her. This is the signal Mah-dee used to acknowledge someone’s words.
Li-lah’s little breathless laugh fills the cave, and my balls tighten against my groin in response. “Did you just flip me the bird?”
I try to make sense of her words. “Is this not a signal?” I make sure to face her and I watch her brows furrow as she stares at my mouth. It seems unfair to speak words if she cannot hear them. I need to learn her hand gestures.
So I decide to try another tactic. I lean over the fire and fill my traveling bowl with stew, then wipe the underside clean and offer it to her.
She blinks and watches me.
I gesture at the bowl, then touch my mouth, indicating she should eat.
A smile bursts over her face, startling in its beauty. I am in awe. Mah-dee is attractive enough in a plump, healthy human way but Li-lah? She takes my breath from my body. When her lips curve, I feel a sense of completeness that I have never felt before.
How my mother would laugh to see me so fascinated by a human. She has teased me since the humans arrived, wondering why I did not chase them like Aehako did his Kira. Now I know - I was waiting for Li-lah.
She makes a gesture and murmurs a small ‘thank you’. Ah. I make the gesture back, and she smiles again. Her happiness feels like a prize I have won, and I am determined to keep her smiling. I watch as she takes a bite of the food and then goes to lick her fingers. Then she wrinkles her nose and makes a face, setting the bowl down, a look of distress on her face.
Her hands fly in another gesture and then she makes a brushing motion with her fingers. Ah. She is dirty and she does not like it. I tap my fire-poking stick on the second pouch I have hanging. “Water,” I say, then realize I do not know how to gesture it. I think for a moment, then make a washing indication.
“Water?” she asks, and I nod. She then makes a gesture, putting three fingers near her mouth and tapping. “This is water.”
She is teaching me her words. Pleasure rushes through me and I repeat the motion, trying to get it as close to her gesture as possible given that I have less fingers than her. I mentally repeat it over and over again, determined to learn. I want to communicate with her in the way she is comfortable. If she cannot use spoken words, I will not either.
Li-lah washes her hands in the warm water and then looks at me. I tap my cheek and make a splashing gesture, because her face is still dirty. She nods and rubs the warm water on her face and then dunks her hands again, making sure they are clean. She pulls her hands from the water and flicks them to get rid of moisture, and I take the pouch from the fire and go to toss it. She will want new, fresh water to finish bathing once she is done eating.
By the time I have filled the pouch with more snow, melted it, and then filled it again until there is a decent level of water for warming, Li-lah is curled up in her blankets and eating. She watches me, but her shoulders seem a bit more relaxed and the knife rests on her leg. She will come to trust me, but it will take time.
I am a patient male; I am willing to give her all the time she needs.
She finishes the food with a little sigh and I look over in her direction. Her gaze meets mine and I make the ‘water’ sign, tapping my spread fingers near my mouth. Is she thirsty? My signal gets a smile from her and she nods, then hands the bowl back to me. I give her my water skin and watch as she drinks. She will need more water for drinking, more water for bathing, and she will need to make water and relieve herself. I know that the humans like privacy for their bodies, and they are much shyer than the sa-khui. I do not want her to feel pressured, so I gesture at the bowl in the corner of the cave that is set aside for such actions, and then point at her. Then I point at the water I have warming over the fire, and make the washing motion. I point at myself and indicate I am going to leave the cave for
Li-lah’s little breathless laugh fills the cave, and my balls tighten against my groin in response. “Did you just flip me the bird?”
I try to make sense of her words. “Is this not a signal?” I make sure to face her and I watch her brows furrow as she stares at my mouth. It seems unfair to speak words if she cannot hear them. I need to learn her hand gestures.
So I decide to try another tactic. I lean over the fire and fill my traveling bowl with stew, then wipe the underside clean and offer it to her.
She blinks and watches me.
I gesture at the bowl, then touch my mouth, indicating she should eat.
A smile bursts over her face, startling in its beauty. I am in awe. Mah-dee is attractive enough in a plump, healthy human way but Li-lah? She takes my breath from my body. When her lips curve, I feel a sense of completeness that I have never felt before.
How my mother would laugh to see me so fascinated by a human. She has teased me since the humans arrived, wondering why I did not chase them like Aehako did his Kira. Now I know - I was waiting for Li-lah.
She makes a gesture and murmurs a small ‘thank you’. Ah. I make the gesture back, and she smiles again. Her happiness feels like a prize I have won, and I am determined to keep her smiling. I watch as she takes a bite of the food and then goes to lick her fingers. Then she wrinkles her nose and makes a face, setting the bowl down, a look of distress on her face.
Her hands fly in another gesture and then she makes a brushing motion with her fingers. Ah. She is dirty and she does not like it. I tap my fire-poking stick on the second pouch I have hanging. “Water,” I say, then realize I do not know how to gesture it. I think for a moment, then make a washing indication.
“Water?” she asks, and I nod. She then makes a gesture, putting three fingers near her mouth and tapping. “This is water.”
She is teaching me her words. Pleasure rushes through me and I repeat the motion, trying to get it as close to her gesture as possible given that I have less fingers than her. I mentally repeat it over and over again, determined to learn. I want to communicate with her in the way she is comfortable. If she cannot use spoken words, I will not either.
Li-lah washes her hands in the warm water and then looks at me. I tap my cheek and make a splashing gesture, because her face is still dirty. She nods and rubs the warm water on her face and then dunks her hands again, making sure they are clean. She pulls her hands from the water and flicks them to get rid of moisture, and I take the pouch from the fire and go to toss it. She will want new, fresh water to finish bathing once she is done eating.
By the time I have filled the pouch with more snow, melted it, and then filled it again until there is a decent level of water for warming, Li-lah is curled up in her blankets and eating. She watches me, but her shoulders seem a bit more relaxed and the knife rests on her leg. She will come to trust me, but it will take time.
I am a patient male; I am willing to give her all the time she needs.
She finishes the food with a little sigh and I look over in her direction. Her gaze meets mine and I make the ‘water’ sign, tapping my spread fingers near my mouth. Is she thirsty? My signal gets a smile from her and she nods, then hands the bowl back to me. I give her my water skin and watch as she drinks. She will need more water for drinking, more water for bathing, and she will need to make water and relieve herself. I know that the humans like privacy for their bodies, and they are much shyer than the sa-khui. I do not want her to feel pressured, so I gesture at the bowl in the corner of the cave that is set aside for such actions, and then point at her. Then I point at the water I have warming over the fire, and make the washing motion. I point at myself and indicate I am going to leave the cave for
Similar Books
