Sohut's Protection: A Sci-fi Alien Romance (Riv's Sanctuary Book 2) A.G. Wilde (best way to read an ebook TXT) 📖

Instead, he stared out the small hole that formed the cave entrance and was doing something with his hands.

Now and then, he’d grunt and she couldn’t help but draw closer to see what he was doing.

Standing as far as she could manage while still being able to look over his shoulder, Cleo’s eyes widened.

He was using his blade to pry the jungle urchins from his skin and it looked painful.

Blood oozed from every spot where he managed to remove one of the things.

Guilt flooded through her as she watched him work.

When he finished prying the ones he could see from his arms, shoulders, and tail, he began reaching behind him to try to get the ones at his back.

Cleo squeezed her eyes shut for a second before her mouth moved.

“Let me help you…” She stepped forward before he could reply and closed her hand around the blade.

Rather, she closed her hand around his, for he was holding the blade.

It was the first time she’d willfully touched him and her heart sped up a bit.

Grout studied her face. “Help me? I’d be a mad jerkal to let you get your hand on my blade. You like to cut things.”

Cleo clenched her teeth to stop herself from retorting.

“I only want to help you. I’m being honest when I say I didn’t cut the vine. Now shut up and give me the knife.”

He studied her some more. “I sense no deception.”

“That’s because I’m telling the truth.”

For a few seconds, he just stared at her before his gaze moved to her hand still placed over his.

Slowly, beneath her fingers, she felt his hand loosen and soon the blade was in her hands.

Wordlessly, Cleo pressed her lips into a thin line as she took a deep breath.

Place the edge of the blade under one of the urchins, she tried to pry the thing out of his skin, but it was in deeper than she’d realized.

She’d have to touch him again to get some leverage to remove the darn thing.

Biting her lip, she rested her free hand on his shoulder and she was sure she felt the muscle underneath her hand go taut as if he was as painfully aware of her touch as she was aware of placing her hand there.

His skin felt warm, smooth, and not at all like human skin. It was firmer, yet didn’t feel hard, and she found she wanted to run her fingers along his shoulder just out of pure curiosity.

Touching him felt…nice.

She hadn’t had the pleasure of touching anyone else in so, so long. Even back on Earth, she’d been single for a long time.

Intimate touches that had been desired had been…scarce.

Uninvited intimate touches had been abundant.

Being a bartender had come with its downfalls.

Not that she was being intimate at the moment…

Shaking away her wandering thoughts, Cleo took a deep breath and positioned the knife beneath the urchin she was targeting once more.

“Here goes,” she murmured, and the alien grunted that he understood.

Pressing the blade against his back, she tried to pry free the thing embedded in his skin but it didn’t budge.

“Shit, it’s really in there, isn’t it. I don’t want to cut you.”

“You’ve stabbed me before… This would be a flesh wound,” the alien murmured and Cleo sighed.

“It wasn’t because I wanted to stab you. Plus, I was protecting myself. This is different.”

The alien grunted again, his gaze focused outside the cave.

Finally able to hook the edge of the blade into the thing, a sharp pull had the urchin dislodging and it fell to the cave floor as blood rose from the wound it left behind.

Cleo swallowed hard.

Despair flooded through her.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said and she was sure of it this time—he stiffened underneath her hand.

“Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry you’re hurt like this. I thought worse had happened but this is still very terrible.” She pried out another one of the things and blood rushed to the surface of his skin.

It must hurt so bad.

“Really sorry,” she whispered as she got to work on another one.

At her words, the alien turned to regard her, his green eyes narrowing.

She couldn’t read what he was thinking but when he didn’t say anything else, she accepted the silence and continued working on him.

The sea urchins took a long time to dislodge and by the time she was finished, her own arms and shoulders were aching.

She’d ended up kneeling behind him to get the worst of them out and now, after she pried the last one out, she settled back on her haunches, a heavy sigh leaving her frame.

Her gaze traveled over the absolute carnage that was his back.

There was blood everywhere and it was a good thing she wasn’t squeamish.

“That’s all of them,” she breathed, her voice soft as she rolled her shoulders.

The alien turned and looked at her, his gaze moving over her face.

“What’s that on your face, Cluu?”

Her aching shoulders stiffened immediately and to her dismay, the little dots that ran down the alien’s nose seemed to scrunch up a bit.

Was he making fun of her? In his state?

“There’s nothing on my face.” There wasn’t, was there? She resisted the urge to brush her hand over her cheek. Her hands were stained with his blood and she’d only make a mess.

“Hmm,” the alien said, “thought I saw regret. Must have been mistaken.”

Cleo released an exasperated sound and the alien chuckled. “I didn’t cut the vine.”

His gaze softened as he looked at her. Reaching for his satchel, he pulled out that thing he’d put on the first wound she’d dealt him in the arm.

“Wait, your back is filled with blood. Let me wash it first,” she said, standing and moving away from him to where the last of her water was.

Or where it should have been…

She forgot she was out of water. She’d have to fetch some when it was morning.

As she turned and moved back over to the alien, she realized he was looking at her with a funny look in his eyes…watching