Barbarian Lover (Ice Planet Barbarians #3)(5)

Perhaps Kira is not so aloof after all. It’s time to present her with my courting gift.





KIRA


But they’re so ugly.

Does it matter?

The words ring in my ears as I rip leaves from one of the wintry plants. Jerk. Jerk. Jerk. I like how he doesn’t care what I look like as long as he gets laid. “Why don’t you just go inside and leave me alone?”

“How can I leave you alone?” Aehako still has that teasing note in his voice that makes my stomach flutter…and makes me want to punch him at the same time. He puts a hand over mine. “You’re plucking all the leaves from this plant. If I leave you, I’ll find the entire hill bare.” He tsks. “Maylak will be most displeased.”

I glare over at him, but I stop denuding the bush I’m attacking. He’s right – I’ve taken way more leaves than I should have, but the man gets me so darn frustrated. “I’ll stop with the plant. You’re free to go now.”

He doesn’t leave, though. Instead, he reaches out and touches the translator sticking out of my ear. His fingers brush against the shell of my ear where it’s attached, and I have to fight back a shiver. “Does this thing hurt you?”

“It doesn’t feel good.” His touch does, though. His finger feels insanely warm against my skin, and a prickle of awareness runs up my arms. “It’s heavy and I can’t sleep comfortably. It gets cold, too.” That, and I can hear every conversation for a mile around.

“Can you take it out? Do you want me to try?”

I pull away from him. A rush of horrible memories burst through my mind and I hug my furs tighter around my body. “They surgically implanted it. I tried pulling it out myself but it’s in deep. I’ll just have to live with it.”

It could be worse. They could have raped me like they did Josie. They could have removed my baby like they did Megan.

“I want to help you,” Aehako says softly, and all the teasing is gone from his voice.

I give him a faint smile. “That’s sweet and all, but I’m fine. Really.” I drop the crushed leaves into a leather pouch. He’s right that I’m squeezing them to death. I don’t even know if I can give these to Maylak. They look pretty mangled.

“You’re angry at me, aren’t you, Sad Eyes? Is it something I said or did?” He leans in close and I catch a whiff of his scent. He smells like the berries they use for soap, and a hint of sweat that somehow smells wonderful on him. “My goal is to make you smile, not bring more sadness to your face.”

“I’m fine,” I say, even though his earlier conversation with the female sa-khui still stings. To me, it matters if he finds me attractive or not. I’m only human – ha.

“You’re not fine.”

“Yes, so you like to point out,” I respond automatically, then mentally wince. Ugh. Why did I go there?

“What is this word? I am not understanding.” He tilts his head. “Is ‘fine’ the wrong word? Raahosh says he doesn’t understand half of what Liz says, so I worry our language barrier is worse than we thought.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I say quickly. I step away since he’s awful close and it’s making me fluttery. “I think Maylak needed more tea leaves.” I hurry over to the next plant.

“Fine means…ahhhh.” He chuckles and follows me. “You heard my conversation.”

I shrug my shoulders as a non-answer.

“You did, and your feelings are hurt because you think I do not find you attractive.”

‘That’s not it at all,” I lie, averting my face. I feel like my emotions are painted across my forehead and he’s going to be able to see right through me.

“Mmm. Is that so? Then look me in the face, Sad Eyes, and tell me this.”

I don’t. I pluck a few leaves off of the newest bush, because it’s a nice distraction.

“Look at me, Kira,” he commands again.

I peek over at him. It’s weird that I’m so attracted to an alien. Back on earth, my relationships were nonexistent. I’m the type of girl invisible to guys. I don’t dress in sexy clothing, I don’t flirt, and I rarely wear makeup. My hair’s an uninteresting brown and sits flat against my head, and my face is a little too long to be pretty. I’m not even a great conversationalist. I’m not a virgin because I’m holding out for marriage.

I’m a virgin because I’m boring and unsexy. Normally I don’t care. But Aehako? He’s masculine and utterly breathtaking. He’s one of the few sa-khui who keeps his hair cropped super short against his skull. It’s a short buzz against his scalp, which just draws attention to his big, handsome smile and the enormous horns that jut from his browline. The plated, bumpy ridges down his face are also more prominent, and it makes his face – especially his nose – seem blunter than most. But he’s got such an endearing smile that you can’t help but find him handsome. He’s tall and muscular, thickly built instead of lean like Liz’s Raahosh, and his entire body is a pale slate-blue that I find intriguing.

To say he rings my bell is an understatement. And I hate that I don’t do the same for him. I look away again. “I don’t care if you think I’m ugly.”

“I don’t think that at all,” he murmurs, and I feel the heat of his big body as he moves closer to me again. “I simply did not correct Asha because I wanted to get rid of her, not continue a conversation.”