Sneak Peek! (Un-edited)
Getting off the beast, sliding down the last few inches to stand on her own two feet, Kaitlyn kept up an internal dialogue. Her mind and body were at war. Moving away from the barbarian was difficult. Her body screamed in protest and demanded she get back in his arms.

She gulped in air and tried to clear the lust fog from her brain. Repeating a silent mantra of you can do this.

She looked up at Viktal and swallowed hard. It was a long way up there. Looking around, she realized they must have traveled pretty far from the cave. She had no idea where she was or what she was doing here.

She had scouted for miles around her temporary home when she first found the cave and she had not seen anything like this village. Not to mention it had been dark when Lauren and Daxter left her. She looked toward what her human brain insisted was the east, because the suns rose in that direction on the planet. She was shocked to see that both glowing orbs were starting to peek over the horizon. Shit. How the hell did she manage to lose so many hours?

She looked back at the man who slid off the beast to land beside her and shuddered. Well, she didn’t need to ask how she lost those hours. She knew. She lost her mind every time this man kissed her—and he had taken her easy acceptance of his mouth on hers as an invitation for more than she was willing to give.

He looked like a barbarian fantasy. Long, dark, slightly curly hair moving in the soft breeze—teasing over the muscles in his arms and chest. Temping her to look—to touch. He did not have a shirt on. Those arms and that fascinating chest were naked. Adorned only in black, captivating scrollwork. She’d like to trace those swirling lines with her tongue. Eek!

He had some sort of fur tied low on his hips—which gave her an excellent view of his impressive V-cut.

She swallowed and dropped her gaze to his knees. The fur ended there, and his leather moccasin type boots started just under his kneecap. The breeze shifted the fur, allowing her a glimpse of large, heavily muscled thighs. She tried to keep her mind away from the question of what he wore underneath the well-draped animal skin. Or was he naked?

She shuddered and fought the inclination to step up and plaster her body to his. She used to wonder if something was wrong because she had never been attracted to anyone. Not a man or a woman. Nothing. She had no interest in sex. Or she never had before this alien barbarian walked into her life. She wasn’t sure she was happy about that. She was irritated and the feelings surging through her body pushed that irritation to the boiling point. She had no idea what she was doing, but she knew she wanted to go home. Well… she wanted to return to the cave.

She backed up a few steps and stiffened her spine, demanding, “Take me back.”

When he simply shook his head no, she whirled around and stomped away from him. She didn’t even try to plead her case. She did not have the patience to try and talk to a man who wouldn’t understand what she said. Not to mention, she was afraid if she stayed, she would end up right back in his arms. She needed some space. Some time to collect her thoughts and just breathe without the deeply masculine scent of that man filling her thoughts.

She was surprised he let her go. Allowing her to walk off into the dark of the camp without a word of caution. Then she noticed she had an escort. That several people from the village were following her.

Dammit. Trying to figure out how to get back to her cave was going to be a bitch.

In front of the tent dwellings there were lots of small fires that illuminated the pathways. Until the two suns of this planet rose higher in the sky, she had plenty of light to see by. As she walked, she started paying attention to things around the camp. She called it a camp in her thoughts because most of the structures were made from a canvas-like material—the same red color as the desert sands on this planet. She figured from a distance the tent color would be an effective form of camouflage. Making what seemed to be a pretty big camp, difficult to find.

She tried to ask questions about her surroundings. Looking toward the women in the group following her through the camp, for answers. When she started talking, they would shake their head and hold up their hands in what Kaitlyn figured was a universal sign for confusion. Sighing heavily, she went back to her silent exploration.

Many of the men following her were dressed in a manner that was similar to Viktal. They had leather or fur wrapped around their hips and some wore vests or shirts out of the same materials. A few had tats, most didn’t. And they all had what Kaitlyn called moccasin-boots, including the women.

None of the men were as big or as impressive as her barbarian.

She winced. Not hers.

Turning her attention from the men, she studied the women who walked near her. Most were dressed in simple leather or fur shifts. The dresses typically ended at the knee, just before their moccasin-boots began. There was a little variety. A few of the women wore leather pants or a short skirt tied around their hips like the men. Along with a vest that tied in the front.

Several women reached out to touch her jeans and Kaitlyn noticed they would then reach out and touch the flap of a nearby tent and finger the fabric. Comparing the two. She swore she could see their minds expanding with the possibilities.

In some ways, the village reminded her of a fractured history lesson. As if the barbarian hordes had mingled with an early American Indian village, and then somehow had a visit from technologically savvy… well—aliens.

It was interesting to see the red dirt of the planet mirrored in the tents, in the pots, and again in many of the dishes used over the fire. Which made sense. Any clay used to create the pots would be red. The dirt would also make an easy dye for the animal hides and any materials they used. Plus, it helped provide camouflage. The tents and even some of the light red aliens seemed to blend into the background.

At the edge of the encampment, Kaitlyn found a small hill that she hoped would give her a better view of the surrounding area. The higher she climbed, the fewer tents and small buildings there were. Until finally at the top, there was nothing but a waist-high enclosure that had been fashioned from stone.

The circular half wall had a roof made out of the same material used to make the tents. But the roof didn’t flow down to meet the wall. Instead, there was an open space all around the perimeter. Kaitlyn frowned at the structure for a moment until she realized that there was someone inside. This building was used as a lookout. Guarding against what, she had no idea. She supposed it could be unfriendly aliens or a massive windstorm. Either one would require someone keep watch.

The person inside stepped up to the entrance, which faced the path to the village where Kaitlyn stood. She got her first look at what had to be a female warrior for this… tribe. She was happy to see the woman was armed similar to the men and seemed to know what she was doing. It gave Kaitlyn hope that there was a measure of equality between the sexes.

She peeked back down the hill toward the village and studied those who had wound their way through the paths with her. They hadn’t made the climb to the top, they just sat at the bottom and waited. She glanced around. There wasn’t another way off this hill, she would need to walk down the same way she came up.

Silently, she stood for a moment. Closing her eyes to simply let the sounds of the alien voices, speaking words she did not understand, wash over her. It was a surprisingly happy sound. One of children laughing and voices raised in conversation and song. It was accompanied by the soft sound of the wind and the occasional ring of metal hitting metal. The familiar burst of birdsong and animal noise comforted her. Even though the animals and birds were alien, they still sang and made noises that reminded her of the livestock at home.

Opening her eyes, she turned and studied the two warriors who were dressed almost identically to Viktal. These men were the only ones who had bothered to climb the hill with her. She assumed they were her guards. She watched them for a minute. Both had dark curly hair, very muscular bodies, and blue eyes. Just as Viktal did. She waited for her libido to kick in. Afraid she had found her “type” and that all dark-haired barbarians would make her body flood with lust and she would do insane things if they smiled and tried to kiss her.

Even before Viktal kissed her, she knew she’d follow him anywhere.

Studying the two great-looking men, she was glad to discover that she felt nothing for either of them. Not a glimmer or a twitch of lust. If they took one step towards her, she would go screaming down the hill in the opposite direction. Which is what she should have done when Viktal showed up.

Not reacting to these two probably meant that Viktal was “it” for her. Her fated-mate, thanks to the shot given to her by the doctor for the Siloth, in a mad-scientist attempt for the captive women to find their biological mate and have babies. He thought he was doing them a favor.

Damn him.