Ar'Tok - Alana Khan Page 0,53

male holding my hand is the most handsome male I’ve ever laid my eyes on.

We’re standing a respectful distance from the edge, admiring the beauty. It seems that for every foot higher we progress up the mountain the more amazing the view.

The rocky mountain rises behind us, but here toward the edge, it’s flat and grassy. Ar’Tok pulls me with him as we skirt the perimeter. He stays on the outside, keeping me safely away from an accidental fall.

Only a few people exited the grinton at this stop, most of them were waiting to exit until they hit the peak at the next stop. I noticed little Shamdah and his mother re-board the train before it left. Sweet boy. The way he talked to Ar’Tok touched my heart.

“Is that a cave?” I ask, pointing between bushes that almost obstruct the view.

“Want to explore?” he asks.

He tugs me with him as he picks his way through the thick foliage. From some angles it looks like a wall of sheer rock, but from other angles I could swear there’s a cave back there.

We finally arrive at the spot and it’s simply rock, no cave, just interesting shadows.

“We’re away from prying eyes,” Ar’Tok says with a sly grin. “I don’t want to embarrass you, but we could sneak some kisses, couldn’t we?”

He pulls me against the rock, which is cool to the touch because it’s hidden by foliage. The moment seems so ineffably sweet as I wait for his beautiful face to dip toward me, finally breaching the final inch to touch his warm lips to mine.

His cirr grip my head, pulling me closer—as if I had any desire to pull away. His kisses morph from sweet to desperate in the blink of an eye. It’s as if he can’t get enough of me, as if he’s tasting me, committing me to memory.

The last time we discussed it, I told him I wanted to go back to the Misfit. How could I possibly leave him now? As soon as I’m not breathless from his kisses I need to tell him I want us to stay together. The idea of inviting him to join me on the Misfit flits through my mind, but I don’t need to be alone and isolated anymore. Neither of us does.

We’re making friends on the Fool, and they’re such great people. Now that they’ve taken on the new males they rescued from planet Trent, they’ve got a lot of mouths to feed. My hacking income can help.

Ar’Tok has kissed me senseless. My eyes flicker shut and I grab his horns near his head. When he sucks in a swift, aroused breath, I know I shouldn’t have done it. It’s not fair to make him so horny when I can’t fulfill him.

Pulling away before I make matters worse, I grab his hand and walk deeper into the brush.

“Ar’Tok, it looks like we’ve found a cave after all.”

It’s tucked into an outcropping that’s hidden by boulders and shrubs.

“Let’s pretend we’re explorers,” I say excitedly. “Maybe we’re the first people to find this place.” I know this is ridiculous, millions of visitors traipse up this mountain every year. We can’t be the only ones who’ve discovered this place, can we?

We’re completely unprepared to enter a cave. Although we’re both wearing heavy boots and layers of clothing, we don’t have a laser light.

Even though we can’t really explore, this provides a solution to our other predicament—the horny predicament. We could definitely sneak far enough inside to explore each other—naked.

Maybe Ar’Tok has the same thought, because he asks, “Where are we on time? I want to make sure we don’t miss the last grinton. I wouldn’t want to piss off the evil little cartel male.”

“Yeah, that would be whack. It’s 1420. We should be back on the grinton in forty minutes. That gives us just enough time to . . .” I raise one eyebrow, toss him a wicked smile while I lick my lips, and boldly pull him through the mouth of the cave.

Barely inside, I back against the inner wall, grab him by the collar of his yellow slicker, and pull his head to kiss me. His gentle hands war with his cirr to touch my cheeks. Although I’m the one who began the kiss, Ar’Tok takes control, his tongue spearing into me, tasting me, as I taste him.

I pull away, grab his horns near his scalp and ask, breathless, “Did you just tell me you love me?”

Without waiting for his answer,