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

he didn’t have to make such a big deal over it. But he cut her off before she was even able to mouth the words.

“Never, do that again.”

Sohut set her down and began cleaning her wound and all she could do was blink at him.

Somewhere behind them lay a huge beast that they’d just killed, yet he was tending to her so carefully and gently that she couldn’t believe it was the same person that had just sliced the beast in two.

For more than a few minutes, he crouched over her, meticulously removing every single foreign object from her wound.

Bits of leaves and sticks were removed by his dark claws one by one and never did he let her help.

He seemed adamant about doing it himself and as he worked he kept his gaze on his task, not raising his eyes to hers.

He cleaned her wound with dew from a nearby leaf and dug into his pocket for that vial of healing stuff he carried around. Still, he didn’t look at her the entire time.

“Sohut?”

He didn’t reply but she knew he heard her because the muscles in his shoulders stiffened slightly.

“Sohut.”

He finally raised his gaze to hers, and Cleo inhaled deeply.

Did aliens cry?

Because he sure looked like he could cry.

The pain in his eyes was so real it made something within her wring into a knot.

She reached forward, cupping his face with her good hand without even thinking about it.

“You don’t have to feel so bad. I’ve cut myself worse before,” she murmured, her gaze searching his.

He didn’t reply.

“Sohut?”

His gaze fell to her lips. For a moment, he just stared at them. “You say my name strangely,” was what he said.

What?

Cleo paused, an unexpected chuckle bubbling inside her.

It wasn’t what she’d expected him to say judging from, oh well, she didn’t know—his entire demeanor!

“Am I not saying it correctly now? I don’t call you ‘Grout’ anymore, not even in my head.”

He was looking at her differently now, the sadness seeping away from his eyes as another emotion took hold. Something else, something intense, and her voice fell.

“You say it beautifully,” he finally said and it felt like the air crackled between them.

There was no warning.

One moment he was stripping her bare with his eyes and the next he was pushing her into the soft patch of vines he’d set her on.

A moan that she thought was internal turned out to be a very verbal one as his mouth met hers…and then she couldn’t breathe.

Breathing wasn’t important with the feel of his lips against hers.

Suddenly she wasn’t in the jungle anymore, she was somewhere else, somewhere safe and he was the reason she was there.

Wrapping an arm around his back, she pulled him closer as their kiss deepened.

This kiss was nothing like the many others they’d shared.

The way he kissed her it was as if he wanted to absorb her into himself.

Sohut groaned so deep, his entire chest vibrated against her as he pushed her head back into the leaves and, as if her body couldn’t get enough of what he was inciting within her, her legs wrapped around his tapered waist, pulling him into her.

At that moment, it felt like he was everything she needed.

The world didn’t matter anymore.

The jungle didn’t matter.

All that mattered was the fact that he was here now and the strange thing about it…it felt like he was always meant to be there.

She was his…and he was hers.

She didn’t know how long they’d been kissing for, only that when he finally broke away to take a breath, it felt like the sun had moved a little across the sky.

“Phek…” he muttered, taking huge gasps as he looked down at her. “Phek me.”

Yes, that sounded about right.

“That’s…” He began then trailed off. “You’re…”

Yep, that sounded about right too.

He leaned down again to rest his forehead against hers and, this close, his green eyes were like the most brilliant demantoids she’d ever seen.

“You can’t stay in this jungle,” he finally said. “We can’t wait around anymore. We need to go. We need to get to the Sanctuary.”

Cleo nodded.

She knew staying at the camp had been temporary.

“You can’t stay,” Sohut gulped and continued. “They know…”

Mild confusion made her search his gaze. “They know what? They who?”

“That spined creature was hunting me. With Wawa around, it wouldn’t have taken the chance to come close to you. It was after my scent.” He paused. “It was coming after me.”

Cleo blinked. Several thoughts, so many questions, rose in her mind.

In the process, she realized her legs were still wrapped around his waist, her skirt falling so her nakedness was plastered against him.

But as she tried to take her legs down, Sohut reached back and held them in place, a warning flashing through his eyes.

She could feel her cheeks warm but she didn’t move.

It wasn’t the worst place to have her legs.

“They know I’ve been…protecting you.” He paused, waiting for her to say something before he continued. “It’s not…normal for me to take this long to bring in a bounty.”

Suddenly, the gravity of his words hit her full on.

He was talking about the orc aliens.

“You think they sent that thing after you?” Her gaze drifted to the dead animal not far from them.

“I don’t think it. I know it.”

Her throat suddenly felt dry. “They don’t know you found me. What if you’d failed to catch me…”

“I never fail.”

Cleo digested his words.

“So, you’re saying they sent that…thing to kill you?”

Sohut didn’t answer but the look in his eyes told her the affirmative.

“Shit…what does that even mean? They hired you.”

“It means they know I’m not bringing you in. They don’t want me helping you to get out of this place.”

There was a pause as she considered his words and then everything came falling down.

The hope she had for a future with him, the promise of something more than living like a fugitive…it was all falling to pieces.

“They know where you live…if you bring me there, they’ll come after me…they’ll come after you.”

Sohut didn’t