Read Online Naima: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 7) by Lisa Lace - Free Book Online Page B

a grin at my small victory, but I embraced it. It was the first genuine smile that had crossed my face since my arrival on this godforsaken planet. I rubbed the wrinkled tips of my fingers with my other hand. My quick shower had taken much longer than had intended.
    I set the soap down on a rock and moved into the path of falling water to rinse off one final time. A soft pop sounded from my back as I bent forward to wash the lather off my legs.
    What occurred next happened so fast, it caught me completely off-guard.
    The noise of sudden, rushed movement filled my ears. My fingertips were moved from my calves in one swift motion. A pair of sweaty, hulking arms closed in over me and tackled me to the ground.
    To a bystander, it all happened within a few seconds, but it felt like the moment lasted forever. I flopped around like a struggling fish out of water, trying to get a look at my attacker.
    "Laz? I was just relaxing! And I'm naked!"
    He rolled me on top of him and hooked his feet over my ankles to prevent any movement. He used his arms to prevent my limbs from flailing.
    "Be quiet," he whispered. "We're not alone."
    He had his hand over my mouth, so it wasn't like I could say anything. His fingers stunk. No matter how much he washed, he wouldn't be able to clean himself from the stench of the winoa kill. Was he trying to have his way with me?
    "Damn it, Gabriella. Stop struggling. And try not to make any noise!"
    "Mmmphhh!" Every instinct I had told me to move away and hide. I didn't know what to do, but I didn't want to be here. Maybe I hadn't recovered from the crash landing. My mind was aflutter, and I couldn't think straight.
    All I knew was that I needed to get myself out of this situation. I wanted to survive. I was not going to let myself be captured again.
    I bared my teeth frantically and positioned them over the flesh between his thumb and his index finger. I had my mouth open, ready to bite down and run when two figures crept into the side of my view. I turned to look at the new sight.
    It was two Xylo. I guess we weren't alone after all.
    One was female. Her thinning and unwashed hair hung in loose clumps over the back of her enlarged head. The male Xylo's left eye nearly made my meal of winoa meat come back up my throat. His eye had yellow gunk and was half-eaten by chubby maggots that appeared to have set up a permanent residence in his skull. They looked malnourished, and their oversized clothing made them look bony as well. Dirt covered the backs of their necks and their faces were marked with multiple scabs.
    I felt muscles start to relax slowly. Laz had loosened his grip over my mouth the moment I finally stopped resisting. What was more, this whole time, he didn't have an erection. I guess he wasn't trying to rape me after all.
    All the pieces quickly fell into place. The thumping of my irregular heartbeat began to slow down to its normal pace.
    I turned my attention back to the Xylo intruders. My eyes fell on the familiar pot and sacks of raw pink meat they carried. Behind Laz's hand, my jaw opened. I watched bitterly as the Xylos discarded the delicious soup onto the ground and filled the pot with water. They tipped the rims of the pot toward their faces and caught the water messily with wagging purple tongues. Freeloading seemed to be universal. Why hadn't Laz done anything to stop or scare off these good-for-nothing scavengers?
    A tingling sensation arising from my gut disrupted my thoughts. With my nerves finally settling, I abruptly realized I was completely naked. Laz's sweaty chest was pressed up against me. I could feel his heart beating against my back.
    Now that I wasn't actively moving away from him, he had switched his hold around my arms. He held my wrists together with his closed fists, but his arms were raised slightly above my heaving breasts. He didn't have a hard-on, but I could still feel the length of his cock through his pants. As he shifted underneath me, my thighs clenched