Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Her pale eyes fill with tears and she shakes her head again. “I don’t understand.”
“I know you are tired,” I say gently. I want nothing more than to go to her and comfort her. The need to do so burns in my chest almost as furiously as my khui hums. “I am not good with your words, but I will try. They are sheeps that have people inside. They fly in the stars and sometimes bring gifts.”
“Fly in the stars…?” Her eyes widen. “Ships?”
“Yes, that is the word.” I am relieved. “Now you understand?”
“A ship from the stars brought humans here? A spaceship?” Her hands fly to her mouth. “Oh my god. Those weren’t coffins. They were little ships of some kind. Why—how did I get into a spaceship?” R’slind’s eyes grow wider. “Are you an alien?”
The translation rock in my head tells me that the word means someone that is from a different place. I suppose the island qualifies. I shrug. “Is this bad?”
“It’s really fucking bad,” she says through trembling lips and clattering teeth. “But it explains some of the holes I’m trying to fill in.” She shakes her head and looks on the verge of tears again. “Why would an alien want me?”
“Why would they not?” I am offended on her behalf. “You are perfect.”
R’slind stares at me for a long moment, and then hysterical laughter bubbles up. “Thank you, I guess?”
“Your teeth are clacking,” I point out. “And your eyes are dark. Where is your khui?” I tap the corner of my eye.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Your eyes are dead. That is a bad thing.”
“We’ll just add it to the list of bad things, then. It keeps growing.” She lets out a full-body shiver. “Why is it bad if I don’t have a coo-ee?”
“Because you will die. Your Berry-and tribe does not have khuis, then?” I vaguely remember something the other hyoo-mans said about this. That when they came here, it was very cold, too cold to survive until they got a khui.
“Berry-and?” she echoes.
“You said your name is R’slind of the Berry-and clan. I have memorized it.” I will go to sleep with the words upon my lips. They are the most beautiful words I have ever heard, and my khui hums louder in agreement.
A faint smile lifts the corners of her mouth, and my cock reacts instantly, flooding with need. Alarmed, I shift my weight, trying not to draw attention to it. R’slind is already skittish. She does not need to see that resonance is already at work upon me.
“I’m a librarian,” she emphasizes. “That’s not my last name. My last name is…is…” She pauses. “Well, shit.”
“What is shit?”
“I don’t know my last name.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “I think that’s bad.”
I do not care if she has a handful of names or only one, but anything that distresses her distresses me, too. “Is it because you are cold?”
“I mean…maybe?” She bites her lip and wiggles her bare toes. “Kinda feels like frostbite at the moment. Perhaps that’s affecting my memories.” R’slind turns to me and waves a hand. “Quick, ask me something.”
Oh, it is my turn now? Hot pleasure floods through me. I am learning about my mate. She wishes me to ask her things. Truly, this is the best of days. “Did you have a human mate back on your world?”
Her brows scrunch up. “I don’t think I did? Ask me something else.”
Mmm. This answer pleases me. “Do you like tall horns?”
R’slind’s expression becomes exasperated. “Don’t get weird on me, R’jaal. This is serious.”
My name. She has said my name aloud. My cock feels so tight and aching that I do not think I can stand in this moment. My khui hums louder, so fierce it is making my chest shake with need. I rub it absently, trying to tell my khui to be calm, that R’slind is here now. That she will be mine soon and I will not let her out of my sight. “I am very serious, R’slind.”
“Ask me something about my past,” she encourages. “About where I came from.”
“Very well. Where are your people from?”
R’slind blinks her strange, dull eyes and stares off into the shadows. “I don’t know. I should have this information. I should. It should be obvious. My name is Rosalind…my birth date is…” She swallows hard, thinking. “September? September something. My parents are Jim and…um…someone. And I live in…” Long moments slide past as she stares at nothing. Then, she fists her hands and buries her face against them. “Shit!”
“Perhaps you hit your head?” I offer. “There is a male of the Croatoan tribe who hit his head and lost all his memories. He did not even remember his mate and their kit when he awoke.”
She lifts her gaze, looking at me with hope. “Do you think so?”