“See you later,” Mia echoed, as Kaylee and Talon left, their arms around each other’s waists. She knew by the eager way they were touching each other that they were probably going to go home and make love all night. Well, she hoped they had fun—she was just going to enjoy the parklands and take her time getting back to the suite.
I really need to get my own place, she thought, as she slipped off her sensible flats and stepped onto the lush, green and purple grass. As soon as she started her new job, she could apply for her own suite. It would be a little bit lonely, living all alone, but Kaylee and Talon really needed their privacy.
She sighed in delight as she wandered over the vast expanse of grasslands, studded with the occasional large trees and copse of bushes. It was such a nice place she was surprised she hadn’t come earlier. But she was rather glad she hadn’t come before, because she seemed to have discovered the park just at the magic hour. As the sun above dimmed, it shed a silvery glow, tinged faintly with green, that seemed to make every leaf and blade of grass sparkle magically.
I feel like I’m walking in a dream, Mia thought, as she went deeper and deeper into the park. Or maybe like I’ve been here before.
As she walked, the strange feeling of deja-vu grew stronger.
I’ve been here before—I know I have! she thought, as she reached the center of the park, where a largish grove of trees stood. It was almost a small forest and the green and purple leaves were fluttering and rustling in the cool night air. A breeze filled with the rich scent of growing things tickled Mia’s nose and lifted her hair like a playful hand. And all of it was somehow familiar.
But how could that be, she wondered? She had never been aboard the Mother Ship before Kaylee and Talon had come to get her. And surely there was no place on Earth exactly like this? Of course, there were plenty of parks and groves and trees and grass, but none with this particular silvery, green-tinged light or the scent of exotic, alien plants perfuming the night air. None that—
Her thoughts ceased abruptly and her heart stuttered in her chest. She wasn’t alone here—not alone at all.
Staring at her from between the rustling green and purple leaves were a pair of glowing green eyes.
11
It was her! Storn knew it the moment he set eyes on her—the moment he caught her sweet, feminine scent on the night air. It was his lovely one—the human female he had been dreaming of for so long.
He had been walking in the Sacred Grove, as he often did at both dawn and dusk, breathing in the peace and beauty. He felt close to the Goddess here—small wonder since this was the center of her worship. But it also reminded him of his home aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship, and he couldn’t help missing his friends and comrades.
Here on this ‘verse’s version of the Mother Ship, he often felt alone. Of course, everyone was very kind and friendly, but they were all smooth-skins, as the Monstrum called people without any fur or feathers or scales to adorn their hides. There was nothing wrong with being a smooth-skin, of course—it could be quite erotic when it came to females—imagine all that naked flesh! But it did tend to make him feel isolated and alone that he was the only one with any fur on his body.
Also, he had to wear leg coverings and more clothing than the Monstrum generally thought necessary. But it had been decided, when they were sending a delegation through the gash in space to the other ‘verse, that he must dress as much like the native inhabitants as possible.
And then, as he was picking his way through the trees, his hooves crackling softly on the twigs and dried leaves, he looked through the branches and saw her—his lovely one.
She was just as beautiful as he remembered from his dreams, with her long, light brown hair falling around her shoulders and big, changeable eyes that looked starry in the moonlight. She had a curving, full figure that he loved and her sweet scent tickled his nose, making him long to hold her.
But when she turned her head to the side, he saw that the left side of her lovely face was puffy and bruised. Storn frowned, how had that happened? Had she hurt herself…or had someone else hurt her?
The thought of someone injuring his lovely one on purpose made a low growl rise in his throat. He had never even been close to going into Rage before—the state of berserker fury a Kindred warrior entered when a female he loved was threatened—but now he felt it building in him at the very thought of someone hurting the little female before him.