Penny's Protector: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Icehome Book 10) Read online

  Penny’s Protector

  A Sci-Fi Alien Romance

  Ruby Dixon

  Copyright © 2019 by Ruby Dixon

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Photo: Sara Eirew Photographer

  Cover Design: Kati Wilde, Photoshop Badass

  Editing: Aquila Edits, Word Wrangler Extraordinaire

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  PENNY’S PROTECTOR

  A quick warning!

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  The People of Icehome

  Need More Ruby Dixon?

  PENNY’S PROTECTOR

  S’bren doesn’t realize what a mess he’s stepping in when he steals me away. He just wants to resonate. Sweet, right? But his methods are all wrong and resonance doesn’t look as if it's happening anytime soon for either of us.

  So I’m going to use this time away from the camp as an opportunity. We’re going to go exploring and not return to the beach camp until I'm good and ready. It's one part punishment for him - being my guide - and one part adventure for me. We'll have fun, swing from some vines in the fruit cave, and then return to Icehome when we're good and ready.

  What's not part of the plan? Falling in love. Matters of the heart are tricky when the khui gets the final say...and mine is totally silent.

  A quick warning!

  A note about this plot line. I wanted to play with the concept of an alien hero doing something unfathomably awful (in human eyes) with far more innocent intentions. So the hero drugs the heroine’s tea and steals her away.

  I KNOW. I KNOW. It’s awful and wrong and my meta-brain thought EXACTLY! WE’LL DO THAT AND SHOW AT SOME LEVEL JUST HOW HE ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT GET IT! You foolish, foolish hero!

  It’s one of those moments where the writer cannot see the forest for the trees. When I conceived this storyline a few books ago, it didn’t occur to me that I was triggering some people and sending them to a horrific place.

  I’m sorry.

  If it helps, please know that I’ve tried to handle it sensitively and honestly from the characters points-of-view but if you absolutely cannot read this without going to a bad place, I UNDERSTAND. Please just skip this one. :)

  The next book will not feature any such storylines and I’m going to be more careful/thoughtful in the future.

  xo

  Ruby

  1

  PENNY

  I bite my lip, watching as the big, awkward alien approaches me on the beach. I can tell—I can just TELL—that this is going to get weird. It's pretty much gotten weird every time S'bren's approached me, and ever since the team games? S'bren's been approaching a lot.

  Poor thing has a crush, I think.

  It's to be expected. Not because I think I'm such hot shit, but because the aliens from the island thought they'd never get the chance to have mates or families. There were no females alive when Lauren and Mari discovered the tribes, and so they came to the mainland just before the island sank (or exploded, or whatever it is islands do when a volcano erupts and takes everything down with it). Ever since the island clans arrived, they've been googly-eyed over the single girls. It's been fun to flirt and get so much male attention, but I never take it too far. I always remind myself that these guys need to be treated gently. That I can't let anyone assume too much. That I just need to be friendly to everyone and let the chips fall where they may.

  After all, it seems like I'm not the one that gets to decide, anyhow. It's the cootie. I'm my own woman until that happens, and once it does…well, I'll think about that later. Suffice to say, it's not a big deal if you take a “pleasure” mate beforehand, but I think pretty much all of us have vetoed that idea. It's not that we don't want to hook up. I'm sure there's a few of us that have itches that need some serious scratching. It's that after what happened with Bridget? All of us are a little terrified of letting one of the guys think it's more than just sex.

  Bridget hooked up with A'tam and A'tam practically thought it was wedding vows. Then, Bridget ran scared and it's been chaos ever since. These guys don't know the meaning of “friends with benefits,” or “casual sex,” or “one-night stand.” They know “mine” and “mate” and “forever.”

  So yeah, even Tia, bless her flirty little heart, knows not to go too far.

  But S'bren might end up being my own personal problem. I sit on the sand, my arms resting on my knees, and pretend to stare out into the icy waters. I'm supposed to be watching O'jek spear-fishing because I did say I wanted to learn. But the moment I saw S'bren's big body heading down the beach in my direction, I got distracted. Every time S'bren comes to talk to me, it gets…awkward. He's like that weird, nerdy guy in the back of the class that never talked to anyone. Well, no, that's not exactly right. He's not nerdy. He's just…odd. I keep my gaze focused on the waters, even as I watch him approach in my peripheral vision. Maybe he'll keep going. Maybe he'll keep going. Maybe he's not coming over to talk to me. It might just be coincidence.

  S'bren pauses a short distance away, maybe fifty feet. Just far enough for me to be acutely aware, but not so far that I can ignore him. He stays there…and waits.

  Eventually, I can't take the pretending any longer. I turn and look over at him, giving the alien a friendly smile. "Morning, S'bren."

  He freezes. His color shifts in a flurry, matching the sand, then the ocean, then drifting back to the normal ice blue of the island clans. His forehead seems dark, as if flushed, and he says nothing. Just mutely holds out a fish.

  See? Weird.

  "Um, no thank you?" I point at the spear at my side, next to my folded net. "I'm good."

  His big, broad face turns down in a frown. He gestures at the fish, holding it out to me again. "You are about to fish. Now you do not have to."

  I keep smiling, because it's sweet of him to try and feed me, but he's missing the point. "I'm here to learn, though. I want to be self-sufficient."

  "If you had a mate, he would feed you." He lowers the fish, studying it for a moment. "You would not need to learn."

  Annnnnd it just got awkward. Poor thing. I feel nothing but pity for S'bren, who's just darn weird. I'm used to the guys not knowing how to flirt. It's fun to tease but I never take it further than a tease. I don't want to lead anyone on, but apparently I've somehow snared S'bren with my wiles…I guess? I rack my brain, trying to think of what I did that would have made him latch onto me. Did I smile too long? Laugh too hard at someone's joke? What? "I want to learn," I say again, gently. "It's important to me."

  His forehead flushes even darker at the base of his horns. "I can feed you. I would take care of you, P'nee. Even without re
sonance."

  And he awkwardly thrusts the fish back out to me.

  Yeah, I'm not taking that thing from his hand. It might as well be an engagement ring as far as he's concerned. How to let him down gently? I get to my feet, dusting the sand off my leathers. "Gosh, S'bren, I really do appreciate the thought." I beam at him, because a smile never hurt anyone. "But if you feed me, I'll never learn how to take care of myself, and that'd just be unfair. Why don't you take that fish over to Liz or Harlow? Their hands are full with their new babies and I'm sure they'd love a bit of extra meat."

  He thinks for a moment, and I can practically see the wheels turning in his head. His jaw sets and then he frowns. "I caught it for you."

  "I'm sure someone else will enjoy it, too." I pick up my spear and net, as if I'm readying to get into the water. Of course, to do that, I'll have to strip my pants off, and there's no way in heck I'm doing that with S'bren right here acting weird. "Oooh, what about Devi and N'dek? Save them a trip into the water!" Suggesting this is my ace in the hole, because I know he's buddies with Devi (who can be equally awkward and weird at times).

  S’bren considers this, his shoulders slumping, and I feel like I’ve kicked a puppy. “I wanted to feed you.”

  “Aww, buddy.” I give him a sympathetic look. “I appreciate that. I really do. But I want to learn to feed myself.” S’bren is a big goober, and it’s made worse by his crush, but he really does have a good heart. “Next time, huh?”

  He’s silent, and I think for a moment that he’s offended. That I’ve truly hurt his feelings by refusing his fish, but then S’bren’s expression hardens, and someone comes to stand at my side.

  O’jek. The Shadow Cat hunter glares at S’bren as if he’s encroaching on O’jek’s territory…which is me. In fact, O’jek’s standing so close that I can practically feel the seawater dripping off of him. He gives a full body shiver, flicking water off his arms and legs like a dog and then thunks the butt of his spear into the sand. “Is this one bothering you?” O’jek asks me.

  Bothering me? It’s a free beach. I get that a lot of the men are territorial—and the ones that haven’t resonated are some of the worst. It’s like they think if they’re pushy enough, a cootie will kick into gear and give them the female they want. It’s happened several times over the last few months, and every time, I shut it down.

  Just like I’m about to do right now. I give O’jek a sweet smile. “Of course not. S’bren and I were just chatting. He’s trying to be helpful but he didn’t realize I’m trying to learn. No harm done.”

  S’bren just silently glares at O’jek and doesn’t move.

  O’jek bristles. “She is with me, Tall Horn—”

  “Hang on, here. I thought this was just a fishing lesson?” I cut in, frowning at both of them. “If you’re both going to act like I’m someone’s territory, then I’ll find someone else to teach me spear fishing.”

  “I will teach you,” S’bren quickly volunteers.

  O’jek snarls, taking a step forward.

  “Guys, please.” I step in between them. “Let’s calm down, okay? This is just a fishing lesson. It doesn’t mean I’m dating anyone. It just means I want to learn how to fish.” Jeez. I’m trying to stay positive, but if I’d have known that this much testosterone was going to be flung around on the beach, I’d have gone hunting with Nadine when she asked me.

  They both silently glare at each other and then O’jek turns to me. “I am sorry. Come. I will show you where to stand in the waters. Are you ready?”

  I glance over at S’bren, but the hard, angry tension in his shoulders is easing. He looks over at me, then silently nods. He’s standing down, all because I asked him to.

  I give him a look of appreciation and turn to O’jek. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Then take off your boots and leggings, and join me in the waves,” the Shadow Cat hunter says, slapping the hip of his wet loincloth—all he’s wearing—and then turning back toward the icy, rolling shoreline.

  Right. Time to strip down. I glance over at S’bren to see if he’s leaving, but he leans on his spear and watches, waiting, the fish seemingly forgotten. Okay, then. I can put up a fuss about stripping down to my own loincloth, or I can just act like it’s normal and get on with things. I hesitate for only a moment, and then pull off my fur boots and then my leggings, tossing them into a pile next to my net. My tunic barely covers my big butt, but all the cellulite in my thighs is on display. No matter how much walking I do, my thighs are tight…and still covered in cellulite. Oh well. If the guys here don’t care—and it’s clear they don’t—then I don’t, either. I give a little shiver and then, clutching my spear, head toward the icy waves.

  O’jek’s already wading out ahead of me, past the biggest, slapping waves and into deeper waters. He goes out to his waist, and then turns to wait, watching me.

  I try to go as far out as him, but stop when the water brushes against the hem of my leather tunic. I might take my pants off for this, but there’s no way I’m stripping naked just to catch a few fish. I suspect O’jek would think I’m practically proposing marriage to him if I did. The thought makes me giggle, and I gesture at where I stand, a good twenty feet back from him. “How about this deep instead?”

  He nods, wading over to my side.

  The water is ice cold, which is expected. My khui feels warm in my chest, as if I’ve got a strange little space heater that’s hard at work. So the water is absurdly, horribly cold, but I can somehow stand it? My toes prickle with the chill, but they never go numb, and so I do my best to ignore the icy feeling. If island-born O’jek can stand it, surely I can, too.

  Something slithers past my foot, and I freeze in place, immediately visualizing all the weird, Cthulhu-looking shit that washes up on shore on a regular basis. “A fish just touched my leg. At least, I hope it was a fish. Should I be worried?”

  “No,” O’jek says, moving to my side. “The largest, most deadly creatures are much farther out. We are not very deep.”

  “Okay, you’re the expert.” There’s something about his statement that seems a little flip to me, but I could just be paranoid. I’m used to hunting in the snowy canyons, where you view everything as a threat—snow drifts, tracks, lack of tracks, a change in the wind, everything. Maybe fishing’s just more low-key.

  O’jek shows me how to hold my spear, and instructs me to peer into the water, looking for shapes and motion. It’s not the easiest task, considering that the waves are constantly making the water slap against my legs, and the bottle-green murky color of the ocean isn’t helping, either.

  “It is about patience,” he tells me, and then casually slams his spear into the water at his side. He yanks it back up and brandishes, showing a boot-sized fish speared on the sharp tip.

  I gape in shock. It happened so fast I barely saw it. “Oh my gosh, how did you do that so quickly?”

  He gives me a look of pride. “Practice. Much practice. Come, we will get more.” He turns and tosses the fish like a football toward the shore, and it lands near my abandoned net. The poor thing flops on the beach once, then goes still, and I have to remind my squeamish heart that this is food, nothing more. I’m getting better at it, but I still struggle. Probably always will. “Come,” O’jek says again. “You try.”

  I wait, utterly still, my spear poised, until my arm aches from holding it rigidly in place. O’jek points at the water to my side, but I can’t see anything. After another minute of this, he reaches over and jabs, and spears the fish.

  “I didn’t see it,” I exclaim. “Son of a gun.”

  “Perhaps your people’s eyesight is not as keen.” He tosses the fish again. “There are many ways your people are very different from mine.”

  Mmm, he’s not wrong. Even so, it irks me that I can’t fish as well as him simply because of human eyeballs. I watch as the fish sails through the air and notice that S’bren is still standing in the same spot on the shore, still watching us. I wonder how long he’s g
oing to be there.

  We’re in the water for a bit longer before I have to take a break, and then I shiver on the shore until O’jek hands me a fur to wrap around my legs. “You will get this, P’nee,” he promises me. “Be patient.”

  “Ho, what are we catching?” calls another.

  A brief look of frustration flares across O’jek’s face as his clansmate I’rec approaches. I’rec is all smiles, giving me an appreciative look. He’s bolder than O’jek, and he loves to flirt with Tia. He’s nice—they all are—but he definitely does not know the meaning of “playing hard to get.” Dude comes on strong every time.

  Today is no different. S’bren shoots him an irritated look from afar. O’jek snorts with impatience. “I am busy.”

  “He’s teaching me how to spear-fish,” I tell I’rec. “We were just about to get back into the water.”

  I’rec crosses his arms and shakes his head, disagreeing. “Spear-fishing for a beginner? Better to start off with nets.”

  “She wished to learn spears,” O’jek says, his tone like that of someone dealing with an irritating sibling. “I am showing her spears.”

  “You should show her nets,” I’rec states again. “Just because you cannot throw them as far as I can does not mean it is not worth showing.”

  O’jek glares at I’rec. “Lies. I can throw farther than you.”

  I’rec just snorts as if he doesn’t believe this.