Free Alien by Tara Nina Jaid Black Leora Gonzales Laurann Dohner

give our seed to the woman we wish to
have children with. I want you to consider it, Lynn. I believe you’d like Zorn.
I would love to tell you all about my planet. Other Earth women have come to
call it home and they don’t regret going there.”
    She was stunned, speechless.
    “I know this is happening fast but consider it. I’d make you
happy. I’m aware of some of the issues our two races have faced. Let me explain
some of them for you and alleviate your concern. You’d be the only woman I’d
touch or allow to touch me. I’d fight to the death to keep you safe. I will
take another job that keeps me on Zorn at all times. I’d never leave you on the
planet alone while I went into space. There are other women from your planet
and you can see them often. They will become your friends. They are bound to
the brothers of my heart.”
    “What is a brother of the heart?” She felt safe asking that,
not willing to address the whole marry-me-and-come-live-on-my-world-with-me
subject.
    “My parents died when I was young. Hyvin Berrr allowed me to
move into his home and raised me with his sons. His bound refused to allow him
to accept me as a full son. I’m of Hyvin Berrr’s heart and his sons are my
brothers of my heart. They feel the same toward me.”
    “Why wouldn’t she allow him to adopt you?”
    He appeared confused. “Adopt?”
    “To treat you as if you were a full son, I guess.”
    “She felt I wasn’t worthy because we have no blood
connection. Bloodlines were important to her and she thought it was an insult
for me to even be raised with her sons, let alone to have their standing in our
society. But Berrr refused to send me away. He was friends with my father. He
wanted to keep me close and give me the best opportunities to become a strong,
honorable warrior. He tells me often I have done him proud. That means a lot to
me. I respect and admire Berrr.”
    Lynn played with his hair. She liked that he could be so
open about his life. He might be from another planet, but it seemed to her that
his people and hers probably had a lot in common. “Is it scary to leave your
world to go to others?”
    He smiled. “Sometimes, but right now I’m grateful for visiting
Earth.” He shifted his hold on her and used his fingers to spread her hair out
on the soft pad of the bedroll, seeming to admire it. “I’d love to take you
home with me, Lynn.” He leaned in closer, holding her gaze. “It might be
frightening for you, but I’d keep you safe and happy. I’d like you to be my
bound. Say yes.”
    He wasn’t going to let it go. “We barely know each other.”
    “You need more time.”
    “Yes.”
    “I understand.” He glanced at her mouth and tenderly kissed
her. He pulled back. “We should leave here and track my crew. They left at
least an hour before we woke.”
    She remembered what Holion had said. “Why don’t we forget
them and find your Vhon on our own? I know this area really well. They are
probably wandering around blind. Didn’t you say you thought you were tracking
Vhon when you were attacked?”
    “Yes.” Coto slowly pulled away and gripped her arm, helping
her to sit up. He stood, completely removing his leather Speedos. He held out
his hand to her again. “Let’s get clean first.”
    “The river is too far.”
    He smiled. “Zorn technology. Trust me.”
    He led her to one of the black packs, let her go and reached
inside to pull out a packet. “Washcloth. I think that is the right term you
would understand. The human bounds on Zorn work with our programmers to make
communications smoother.”
    He opened it and handed her a warm, wet piece of material.
She studied it. It was really soft.
    “Wipe over your skin to get clean.” He bent and removed a
second one.
    She had to admire the way that he seemed so comfortable with
his nudity. It made her feel a little shy as she removed her jacket, doing what
he did. He started at his face, moved slowly down his shoulders, then his chest
to