He wasn’t going to let it go. “We barely know each other.”

“You need more time.”

“Yes.”

“I understand.” He glanced at her mouth and tenderly kissed her. He pulled back. “We should leave here and track my crew. They left at least an hour before we woke.”

She remembered what Holion had said. “Why don’t we forget them and find your Vhon on our own? I know this area really well. They are probably wandering around blind. Didn’t you say you thought you were tracking Vhon when you were attacked?”

“Yes.” Coto slowly pulled away and gripped her arm, helping her to sit up. He stood, removing his leather Speedos all the way. He held out his hand to her again. “Let’s get clean first.”

“The river is too far.”

He smiled. “Zorn technology. Trust me.”

He led her to one of the black packs and reached inside to pull out a packet. “Wash cloth. I think that is the right term you would understand. The human bounds on Zorn work with our programmers to make communications smoother.”

He opened it and handed her a warm, wet piece of material. She studied it. It was really soft.

“Wipe over your skin to get clean.” He bent and removed a second one.

She had to admire the way that he seemed so comfortable with his nudity. It made her feel a little shy as she removed her jacket, doing what he did. He started at his face, moved slowly down his shoulders, then his chest to his stomach. She realized quickly that the cloth remained damp and seemed to absorb everything.

Coto avoided staring at Lynn. She seemed ill at ease with baring her body in front of him. He found it endearing. Earth women were shy about nudity. He’d break Lynn of that in time, until she preferred being undressed in his presence.

Some of his amusement faded. She hadn’t agreed to return to Zorn with him as his bound. They didn’t know each other well but he wanted to keep her. He’d seen Rever make a mistake by bounding to the wrong woman. It had been corrected when he’d met his Brenda, but the lesson was learned. Coto refused to believe Lynn hid a dark, deceitful heart. She was sweet, smart, and everything he could want in a woman he would spend the rest of his life with.

She wanted time to get to know him better. He’d sent a distress signal to Zorn when they’d engaged in battle with the Collis. The ships they used to avoid detection on Earth didn’t have many weapons. He estimated he had two days before help reached them, if the signal had been received. Otherwise, it could be a week before someone was sent to investigate why they hadn’t reported in.

He finished cleaning up and withdrew a shirt from his pack, unfolding it. “Here, Lynn. Wear this.” It bothered him that the other men could see so much of her in just that torn jacket of hers. The crew had been without women since they’d left Zorn and Lynn had a beautiful body. He’d kill anyone who tried to take what was his. That was her.

She accepted it. “Thank you.”

He located sleeping shorts and offered her those too. “They will be large on you but will cover more.” He strode over to one of the sleeping blankets and used his shara to slice off a long strip. Returning to her and dropping to his knees, he used it to make a belt to hold up the loose shorts. He liked having a reason to touch her and she allowed it.

He glanced at her feet. “We should return to the river to cover your feet.”

“I have a plan.”

He looked up at her, resisting the urge to pull her back into his arms. He’d enjoy nothing better than stripping her bare and taking her back to the sleeping mat. He resisted. He’d shown her they were sexually compatible, but he’d learned enough about Earth women to know they wanted more than sex from a male.

“What?”

“We’re going to Mr. Avery’s. His daughter and I were friends. She keeps clothes and stuff there for when she visits him every Christmas, and we’re about the same size. I’m also going to borrow a gun from him. I don’t want to run into those coyotes again without one.”

“I can protect you.”

She smiled. “I know, but I like to protect myself. Welcome to Earth. I’m your equal here. Deal with that.”

He chuckled. She was tiny but he wouldn’t point that out to her. Berrr’s female was fierce. He wouldn’t underestimate Lynn. She had tracked and found him in the woods when he’d been wounded. It was a skill he admired. “Fine. You said he is blind?”

“Yes. I won’t mention anything about you. Just stay outside while I go in and he won’t know anything. I’m going to tell him I lost my stuff in the river and tell him about the aggressive coyotes on his property. He’ll lend me clothes and a weapon. He’s a nice man.”

“Let’s go.”

She glanced around inside the tent. “Should we take down the camp?”

“No. This is our home base. We might be here for days. It should be safe.”

Coto stood, hating to put distance between them. He dressed in his uniform and geared up on weapons, packing enough food to last them for the day. He offered her a breakfast bar. “Eat while we walk. Do you know where this Mr. Avery is?”

“Yes.”

“Lead and I will follow you.” He glanced down at her feet. “Should I carry you?”

She grinned. “I’m good. The ground is pretty soft but I’ll give a shout out if that changes.”

He wouldn’t force her to leave her planet but he’d do everything in his power to convince her to go home with him. He was determined to keep his Lynn.

Chapter Five

Lynn raised her hand and stepped behind a tree. Something was off. The cabin door was closed, the curtains drawn. Nothing looked out of place. She studied it, trying to put her finger on what was wrong. Coto pressed against her back, one of his gloved hands curling around her hip.

“What is it?” He spoke softly.

It hit her. “There’s no smoke coming from the chimney and the porch lights are still on.”

“It’s not a cold morning. Why would he light a fire if it wasn’t for warmth?”

“It’s Mr. Avery. He always has a fire going. He likes the sound and smell of burning wood. He even keeps one going at night when he sleeps. He’s a weird guy. Old school and set in his ways. He’s also cheap. He wouldn’t leave those lights on unless it was nighttime. He’d figure it would run up his electricity bill.”