Barbarian's Choice: A SciFi Alien Romance (Ice Planet Barbarians Book 12) Read online

  She sighs heavily and gives her head a little shake. “Ne vo.” She gazes at me, frowning as she studies my chest. I rub a hand over it, wondering if there’s something wrong with my crew jumpsuit. It ain’t much to look at, but considering I spend ninety-nine percent of my days in space with only three other people, I don’t much care what I look like.

  And it’s not like a naked chick’s gonna be a fashion critic, right?

  She pats my chest, and then looks up at me, frowning.

  “Are you wondering where my clothes went? They’re still here. Speaking of…” I untuck my shirt and pull it over my head, then offer it to her.

  She takes it and raises it to her nose, gently sniffing it. After a moment, she pets the fabric and gives me another curious glance. Her fingers reach out and she touches my chest, the scars over my heart-plating, and the line where my flesh meets the bionic arm. It’s making my body respond, and I need to shut this shit down fast before I remember that it’s been well over three years since I slept with a woman. I take the shirt and pull it over her shoulders, then help her work her arm through the sleeve. She giggles, the sound light and achingly sweet, as I button her into it.

  Once I’m done dressing her like a toddler, she’s, well, she’s covered at least. My shirt hangs off her like a tent, but at least she’s no longer naked. I’d say I’m glad she’s warm, but I don’t think cold has been a problem for her, period.

  Her hand touches my arm, her fingers stroking my skin. “Chahm-pee?” She wiggles her nose and then mimes galloping with her hands.

  “Is that your pet? Come on. I’ll take you to him.” I clasp her hand in mine, and she squeezes my fingers. Hate that she feels so keffing right with her little fingers tucked against mine.

  I lead her to med bay, and she sucks in a breath at the sight of her animal laid out. Niri’s put away her diagnostic machine and has a screen in front of her face, directing the surgery manually. “You blew a hole right through his keffing guts, dumbass,” Niri tells me as I return. “Lucky for you I could remove the part of the liver that you blew up without him going toxic, though it’s tricky given that he’s an animal and our machines aren’t prepped to—” Her words trail off as she sees the girl with me. “Who the kef is that?”

  “I don’t know,” I say bluntly. “She came up to me outside.”

  Niri studies her, then sets the machine on automatic as it works at stitching up the wound in the unconscious hairball of a creature. “She’s wearing your shirt. She naked under that?”

  “Loincloth.”

  “In this snow? Is she crazy?”

  “I…think she lives here.” Something tells me she’s not crazy, just…wild. “Didn’t Trakan say this place was uninhabited?”

  “According to planetary surveys, yeah. You think she’s a shipwreck survivor? She looks like us. Clearly mesakkah.”

  “Sa-khui,” the girl chimes in, misinterpreting Niri’s words. She taps her chest. “Sa-khui.”

  “Is that your name, sweetie?” Niri asks, pulling the girl away from me and moving her to a seat. She takes out her hand scanner and begins to run it over her.

  “Sa-khui,” the girl repeats again, and taps her chest. Then she pats Niri’s arm. “Sa-khui.” She gestures toward me. “Sa-khui?”

  “I think she’s saying she’s like us,” I tell Niri, leaning against the wall and crossing my arms over my chest. Smart thing. I can’t deny that I’m attracted to her like mad, but wouldn’t any man in my situation? Long time celibate, naked, attractive girl…but there’s something more to her. Maybe it’s her sweet, innocent expression, her wide-eyed wonder as she looks around her. Makes me want to protect her from anything that might harm her…even me. Or Niri. The captain. Trakan.

  Not that I think they would… It’s just that she’s mine.

  “Well, she’s definitely descended from mesakkah stock,” Niri says, interrupting my possessive thoughts. “The scan reads that her DNA matches up perfectly with ours. But she’s not speaking any tongue that I know of.”

  “She stranded here, then?”

  “I don’t know. I think she was born on this planet.” Niri moves the scanner over her. “I don’t see any signs of tech implants anywhere. No surgical scars, no dental modifications, nothing. She doesn’t have a single vaccine, and she’s got parasites. Isn’t that grand?”

  “But she’s healthy?”

  “Oh, she’s stunningly healthy,” Niri says, putting her scanner away with a click. “Other than the parasites, of course. I can remove them once we’re done with her pet here.”

  “And the eyes?”

  She shrugs, putting her equipment away and checking on the herbivore. “Possibly a chemical reaction to something she ate? I don’t know. Like I said, everything registers as healthy.”

  “Sa-khui?” the girl says again, looking over at me. “Vo?”

  She wants answers, and I don’t blame her. I tap my chest. “Mesakkah. That’s my people. I’m from Ubeduc VII, Cap City.” I point at Niri. “She’s mesakkah, too, but she’s from the homeworld, Kes. And that’s probably way more than you needed to know.”

  “Cap see-tee?” she replies, tilting her head. She gestures at me. “Cap see-tee?”

  “I think she thinks it’s your name,” Niri murmurs, amused. “I need to work on her furry little friend here. You want to take her to your station and see if you can get a language scan to match?”

  It’s a brilliant idea, and I’m annoyed I didn’t think of it. I’ve been scrambled ever since the girl ran right into my arms, buck naked. “Will do. Come on,” I say to the strange woman, and offer her my hand.

  She looks at her pet, worried. “Chahm-pee?”

  “He’s going to be fine,” I tell her, keeping my tone reassuring. It must work, because she puts her hand in mine, and I lead her out of the room and onto the bridge. Luckily, the captain and Trakan both must be in their quarters, because it’s deserted. I move to my seat and turn on my work station. I fire up a translator and make her sit down in my seat, then crouch next to her. “Need you to talk.”

  She touches my arm. “Cap see-tee?”

  I sigh and rub my brows. Kef. She probably does think that’s my name now. Nothing to be done about it until I figure out what language she’s speaking and set my aural implants to the correct frequency. I gesture at my mouth. “Talk.”

  “Spisak?” She gives me a curious look.

  All right, maybe I need to try a different tactic. “Cap City,” I say again, and tap my chest, then I gesture at her. “You?”

  Her smile broadens, and she’s so stunningly gorgeous that it takes my breath away and makes my blood quicken. There’s nothing coy about her smile; she just beams at me like she’s the happiest person in the world, and I love it. She begins to chatter, gesturing at her chest and letting out a stream of words that are so quick that I can’t follow them. If her name’s in there, I’ve lost it.

  The language program starts to run, scanning through all the sounds she’s spitting out, and when I gesture for her to keep talking, she does. After a moment, the computer comes back with an answer.

  88% match - Old Sakh.

  Holy kef. Old Sakh? From the Old Sakh Empire? No one’s spoken that language in a thousand years. The Sakh Empire broke up and formed several coalitions of different planets, and my home world is one of them. Niri’s, too. Well, that explains why I can’t make heads or tails of what she’s saying. I tap a few commands into the computer, sending the language file to my aural implants, and wait for it to start up. It chimes a moment later, letting me know the sync is complete, and I gesture for her to talk again.

  She hesitates. “I am not sure what you wish me to speak about. I have already told you about my people and my home, but it is useless. You do not hear my words.”

  I can’t help but grin. “I hear them now.”

  Her eyes go wide.

  FARLI

  He finally speaks words I know! I smother my gasp and reach for his grinning face, wanti
ng to caress his mouth. “Say it again.”

  “I know your language now. Kind of an obscure one, but I have it.” He reaches past me to peck at the strange table. “I’ll send it to Niri’s oh-rahl eem-plants, too, so she can talk with you.”

  “Niri. Is that the female?”

  He nods at me. “That’s her name. What’s yours?”

  Oh, he wants to know my name. I squirm in my seat, filled with joy and a touch of arousal. He’s looking at me, so pleased, and it makes me feel all flushed inside…though that could be the temperature in their cave. It is uncomfortably hot in here. “I am called Farli.”

  “Farli,” he repeats, and he says it strangely, clipping the sounds with his tongue. I do not even care; it sounds beautiful to my ears. “I like it. Pretty.”

  I brim with happiness. “I like your name, too, Cap see-tee.”

  He chuckles, and I feel as if he’s touching my teats just with that delicious laugh. “Cap City isn’t my name. That’s where I come from. I’m sorry if it was confusing to you.” He puts his hand on my knee, and I feel scorched from that small touch. “My full name is Bron Mardok Vendasi, but you can call me Mardok.”

  Such a strange name. So long and fluid. I am fascinated by this. Fascinated by him. “How did you learn my language so fast? Did your cave tell you?” I look around. “I do not see a red beam to shoot into your eye.”

  “Huh?”

  “That is how we learned the human language. The Elders’ Cave spoke, and we told it to teach us to communicate with them, and it gave us words.” I tap my eye. “A red beam of light went right here and gave me language.”

  He rubs his ear. “Translation must be off, because none of that made any sense to me.”

  I am crushed. “I apologize.”

  “Nothing to apologize for, Farli.” His thumb brushes over my knee, and I feel the liquid warmth sliding between my thighs. I am resonating so very hard right now, and it’s distracting me. “You can call me Cap City if you want.”

  “I will call you by your name. Mardok.” I do not say it exactly as he does, but he smiles anyhow, and I feel better.

  “What are you doing here, Farli? Near the ship?”

  Ship? “Is that what your cave is? A ship?” I look around in wonder. So it is not a cave, after all. Ship. I mentally store the word to share with my chief and the others when I return to the tribe. “And I am hunting with Chahm-pee.” I bite my lip and look back at him, my tail flicking in agitation. “Will he be all right? I do not understand what happened.”

  He looks upset. “I jumped the gun. Made a mistake. Niri is working on him right now.”

  “She is your healer?” I do not understand everything he said, but it can be told another time.

  “Of a sort yes.”

  “Will he live?” I feel the tears approach again. “He is fearless because I have raised him since he was a kit. He does not know to be afraid of sa-khui. He does not think he is food. He is a pet.”

  Mardok looks even more pained at my words. “It’s my fault. I’m going to make this right for you, I promise.”

  I do not understand how it is his fault. Did he make the flash attack Chahm-pee? “The healer will cure him,” I reassure him, though I do not know if this is true. “All will be well.”

  He studies me. “I have a million things I want to ask you, Farli.”

  “And I, you. We are one.” I wait for him to bring up our resonance, but when my khui sings louder to him and he remains silent, I realize…I am the only one resonating. It is like when Vektal met Shorshie and he told us that she did not resonate until she had a khui. Oh. I am disappointed to realize he does not feel what I do. Well, I must simply go back to the tribe and organize a hunting party to go after a sa-kohtsk so my mate can remain here with me. I have so many things I need to tell him, but when I look back at him and he is half-naked and his skin is covered with the strange, whirling designs, I am distracted by his nearness.

  Some hunter I am. A handsome stranger walks in front of me and my mind turns to scrambled eggs, like the kind Stay-see makes for breakfast.

  “How did you get here? To this place? And aren’t you cold?” He crouches near my feet, looking up at me expectantly.

  “Cold? In here? I am sweating.” I fan my face with my hand. It seems easier to blame my flustered, heated cheeks on the warm air than my own need. “It feels nice outside. Good weather.”

  He looks surprised. “This is good weather?”

  “In the brutal season, it is much, much worse. More snow. The air is so cold it hurts to breathe in.” I shrug. “But then it warms all over again and the suns come out.”

  He shakes his head. “Kef me. That’s incredible. And it doesn’t bother you? The cold?”

  “The khui keeps me warm.” I tap my breast. “The humans were cold before they had theirs put in. You will be fine once you acquire one.”

  “A khui?” He repeats the word, though it is clear he does not know what it is.

  “The creature in my chest,” I tell him. “It keeps me healthy and strong. It protects me from getting sick. It makes the air safe to breathe. It picks the best mate for me so we will have strong kits.”

  He looks distracted, and it is clear to me he is not listening to my words. “A symbiont,” he murmurs. “Does everyone on your world have these?”

  “Every living thing. Even Chahm-pee has one. You can see it in the eyes,” I tell him, gesturing at my face. “They are bright blue with life, not dead and lifeless.” Like yours. I do not say it, because that would hurt his feelings. He cannot help it. He will have bright, healthy eyes once he has a khui in his chest.

  “Blue eyes,” he murmurs. “Well, that explains it. Come on. We need to tell Niri before she removes your friend’s symbiont and does more damage than she thinks.”

  I put my hand in his again and let him lead me to the back of the cave-ship. Anywhere he wants to lead me, I will happily go.

  Chahm-pee is fine, though I do not think Niri likes the idea of leaving the khui in his chest—or mine. Their reactions do not bother me; I am told Shorshie and the other humans had a similar reaction to the thought of having a khui, but now they are content and healthy. A khui is a good thing. Chahm-pee’s wounds have been closed up and the blood wiped off his fur, but he is still very quiet and unmoving. I stroke his nose, worried. “He will be all right?”

  “He just needs to sleep,” Niri assures me. “We will keep him in med bay overnight, and he should be good to go by the morning.”

  Such a fast recovery for such a terrible wound. I am impressed. “You are a good healer, Niri.”

  “Mm. Can I talk to you for a minute, Mardok? In private?” She gives him a pointed look and steps to the far end of the room.

  Mardok looks over at me, and then follows Niri. A moment later, they are talking in their strange language, the one I do not understand. Niri is clearly agitated, her tail flicking as she talks. Mardok does not seem happy either, but his body remains still and attentive, like a hunter waiting on prey. I can hear them speak, even if I cannot make out the words, and I am sure they are talking about me. They do not like that I am here, for whatever reason. Perhaps they worry about their safety? I know my chief would be concerned to hear another cave-ship has landed, even if it is one full of friends and not enemies.

  Mardok’s answers to Niri are very short and blunt. He is not a talker, my mate. I do not mind that. He seems like Asha—someone with hurts buried deep. It makes me ache for him, because he is my mate and I want to help. Perhaps the love I have for him and the kit we make together will carry the pain out of his eyes, like it did for Asha and Hemalo. I like the thought very much.

  They both look over at me. “She should meet the captain,” Niri says with a smile that does not reach her eyes. “Did you send him the language file?”

  My mate sighs heavily. “I guess I should. I can’t put it off, can I?”

  I do not understand why they both look so unhappy.

  MARDOK

>   The captain isn’t pleased. The captain isn’t even remotely pleased. I explain to him the situation with Farli, and the fact that there are more people—more mesakkah, no less—living somewhere on this snowball of a planet, and marooned.

  “Old Sakh?” He looks thoughtful as he swirls his tea in his favorite mug. “Ancient history. How did they get here?”

  “The Sakh Empire was space-faring,” I remind him. “The technology wasn’t what we have, of course, but they were still very capable.” I glance back at Farli, who is sitting in the ship’s mess hall with Niri. The medic’s been told to keep her busy while I explain things to the captain, and right now Niri is showing Farli how to brew tea through the computer system. I can only imagine the wonder and delight in Farli’s mind as she pushes buttons and makes tea come out, and I hate that I’m not there at her side.

  “And you’re sure this isn’t a plant of some kind? That she’s not a spy?”

  I look at him like he’s crazy. “Captain, this is a remote snowball not even near any shipping lanes or disputed territory. What would she spy on?”

  “Us?”

  All that military background finally made the man’s mind snap, I decide. “We’re a long-haul freighter. Right now we’re carrying kelp from Eldirav V.” It’s a high-end product, but it isn’t exactly worth spying over. “Can’t say that there’s a need to spy on greens.”

  The captain grunts, like he doesn’t quite believe me but doesn’t have any other theories, either. “I find it hard to believe she knows nothing about us. Or the ship.”

  I’m pretty sure she knows nothing about nothing. Farli’s a blank slate when it comes to our world. In a way, it’s kind of charming. It’s also utterly terrifying because it makes her helpless. I still don’t think she realizes I shot her pet. I don’t think she has any idea of what a blaster is.

  I envy her that.

  The captain doesn’t look convinced. “So she’s just lost, then?”

  I bite back my sigh. The captain’s a good man, but stubborn. “Don’t think she sees it that way. This is her home. I don’t think she’s ever known anything but this place, not if she’s speaking Old Sakh.”