Free Taken: Warriors of Hir, Book 2 by Willow Danes Page A

guess you’d figure it out eventually but if it helps those were the ‘that was kinda sweet of you’ tears.”
    He still looked dubious but gave a human-style nod.
    “But just so you know,” she warned. “The only reason you’re getting a pass on this one is because you’re an alien. Clearly g’hir do lots of things differently but if a human guy broke into my place like that I’d get a restraining order.”
    “I do not know what that is.”
    “An order by the court to stay far away from me or suffer arrest and criminal charges. I guess the g’hir don’t have anything like that to protect women.”
    “A clan protects a female. Her mate protects her. With so few females among us and each one so precious every one of my clanbrothers would rally with me to your protection.” He reached for her, his fingers wrapping around hers. “To die for you, if necessary.”
    He and his clanbrothers would willingly sacrifice their lives for her because they—and R’har—thought she belonged to him.
    But that protection, that devotion, required trust she wasn’t sure she could ever bring herself to give to a man again, let alone an alien. If she couldn’t make it work with the human men she’d dated—even intended to marry—only disappointment and heartbreak would be waiting for her with R’har. 
    She dropped her gaze and withdrew her hand from his, covering the action by reaching for her fork. There was no reason to hurt him right now by reminding him those clanbrothers wouldn’t have any reason to fight for her. There would be time enough to talk about it again when the ship was fixed and R’har could return her to Earth.
    “We better finish up,” she said. “You left that transducer in pieces, remember?”
    He gave a wry smile. “And many more repairs to complete after that component is reassembled.”
    Hope speared a bit of the alien greens with the too-large fork as R’har turned his attention to his own meal.
    But she couldn’t help taking little glances at him. At the light in his eyes, the quiet joy in his bearing, just because he thought he was going to be taking her home with him.

Six

     
    R’har worked for another two hours, and while he was happy to explain what he was doing, most of it went right over her head.
    “We will be on emergency protocols until the repairs are completed,” he said, setting the wall panel into casing. “And the night power cycle will begin shortly. I will have to continue the work tomorrow.”
    “You sure know a lot about this stuff,” she commented, holding the panel in place for him so he could reattach it to the corridor wall.
    “It is part of the reason why I was chosen to travel to your world. I know spacecraft well,” he said as he resealed the panel. “My clan conducts a great deal of trade and I have been on many excursions.”
    Hope climbed to her feet, wiping her hands on her jeans. At least one repair was completed.
    “To other planets you mean? How many other planets have you been to?”
    R’har gave a shrug. “The g’hir have dozens of allies and there are more who are not allies but consent to trade with us. I have not kept count of the worlds I have visited.”
    “That’s actually kind of amazing,” she said, tilting her face up to meet his eye. He was huge really, tall as basketball player, burly as a linebacker but so very careful with her—as if she were beyond precious, worthy of reverence. “I mean going to whole other planets, meeting other species.”
    “Hir is a very beautiful world.” His glowing eyes were warm. “It is a great joy to me to be able to share it with you.”
    An alien planet . . .
    In a few days she would actually be standing under an alien sun. A whole new planet to explore, a whole world populated by intelligent beings to talk to and learn from. Part of her could just squeal with excitement at the chance.
    But these were also beings who thought nothing of kidnapping her and other human women too.
    “Why