Free Alien by Tara Nina Jaid Black Leora Gonzales Laurann Dohner Page A

his stomach. She realized quickly that the cloth remained damp and seemed to
absorb everything.
     
    Coto avoided staring at Lynn. She seemed ill at ease with
baring her body in front of him. He found it endearing. Earth women were shy
about nudity. He’d break Lynn of that in time, until she preferred being
undressed in his presence.
    Some of his amusement faded. She hadn’t agreed to return to
Zorn with him as his bound. Tough they had just met and didn’t know each other
well, he wanted to keep her. He’d seen Rever make a mistake by bounding to the
wrong woman. It had been corrected when he’d met his Brenda but the lesson was
learned. Coto refused to believe Lynn hid a dark, deceitful heart. She was
sweet, smart, and everything he could want in a woman he would have in his bed
and spend the rest of his life with.
    She wanted time to get to know him better. He would have
little time for that. He’d sent a distress signal to Zorn when they’d engaged
in battle with the Collis. The ships they used to avoid detection by Earth didn’t
have many weapons. He estimated he had two days before help reached them, if
the signal had been received. Otherwise, it could be a week before someone was
sent to investigate why they hadn’t reported in.
    He finished cleaning up and withdrew a shirt from his pack,
unfolding it. “Here, Lynn, wear this.” It bothered him that the other men could
see so much of her in just that torn jacket of hers. The crew had been without
women since they’d left Zorn and Lynn had a beautiful body. He’d kill anyone
who tried to take what was his, and that was her.
    She accepted it. “Thank you.”
    He located sleeping shorts and offered her those too. “They
will be large on you but will cover more.” He strode over to one of the
sleeping blankets and used his shara to slice off a long strip.
Returning to her and dropping to his knees, he used it to make a belt to hold
up the loose shorts. He liked having a reason to touch her and she allowed it.
    He glanced at her feet. “We should return to the river to
cover your feet.”
    “I have a plan.”
    He looked up at her, resisting the urge to pull her back
into his arms. He’d enjoy nothing better than stripping her bare and taking her
back to the sleeping mat. He resisted. He’d shown her they were sexually
compatible, but he’d learned enough about Earth women to know they wanted more
than sex from a male.
    “What?”
    “We’re going to Avery’s. His daughter and I are friends. She
keeps clothes and stuff there for when she visits him every Christmas. We’re
about the same size. I’m also going to borrow a gun from him. I don’t want to
run into those coyotes again without one.”
    “I can protect you.”
    She smiled. “I know, but I like to protect myself. Welcome
to Earth. I’m your equal here. Deal with that.”
    He chuckled. She was tiny but he wouldn’t point that out to
her. Berrr’s female was fierce. Coto wouldn’t underestimate Lynn. She had
tracked and found him in the woods when he’d been wounded. It was a skill he
admired. “Fine. You said he is blind?”
    “Yes. I won’t mention anything about you. Just stay outside
while I go in and he won’t know anything. I’m going to tell him I lost my stuff
in the river and tell him about the aggressive coyotes on his property. He’ll
lend me clothes and a weapon. He’s a nice man.”
    “Let’s go.”
    She glanced around inside the tent. “Should we take down the
camp?”
    “No. This is our home base. We might be here for days. It
should be safe.”
    Coto stood, hating to put distance between them. He dressed
in his uniform and geared up on weapons, just packing enough food to last them
for the day. He offered her a breakfast bar. “Eat while we walk. Do you know
where this Avery is?”
    “Yes.”
    “Lead and I will follow you.” He glanced down at her feet. “Should
I carry you?”
    She grinned. “I’m good. The ground is pretty soft but I’ll
give a