Stolen (Tribes #2) - Milana Jacks Page 0,16

but he’s sort of a lion. He even has a thick dark brown mane of hair that he tames by braiding. I don’t answer him, figuring if I don’t speak, he’ll fall asleep and forget about the night he’s owed. I don’t owe him anything. I do not. Even though he likely saved me from hypothermia, has fed me, clothed me, provided me with a better shelter than the hole in the ground, I still owe him nothing, and least of all sex.

Minutes pass, and I wish I had a watch or a clock on the wall. How do they tell time? By the sun or moon, most likely, something I can’t do. It’s definitely late afternoon, and approaching night. The camp has gone quiet. Is he not going to stack the fire for the night? I’m cold and don’t dare move for fear I’ll have to face him.

Behind me, he lifts the pelt covering me and moves closer. I can’t see him, but I hear the purr, and oh, is that heat at my back? I think it is. I think his body radiates heat, and when it’s quiet like this, all I can do is focus on the warmth, the necessity of it for sustaining my life right now.

Nevertheless, I stay in my place.

He does too, but continues purring. I listen to the sound, which somehow settles my nerves. My eyelids droop, and I close them. If I fall asleep and freeze, I’ll never wake up. I snap open my eyes. God, why does my brain have to think all the time?

My back feels warm, while my extremities are practically numb. I tuck my arms between my legs, trying to get them warmed up, then curl into a ball.

The male chuckles. “Every species in the universe has a basic survival instinct. Even prey, mostly prey, actually, because how else will they survive when faced with a predator? Fighting the instinct generally leads to death. Following the instinct leads to survival and winning.” He pauses, maybe waiting for me to respond. I won’t.

“Your body knows it needs heat,” he continues. “I have what you want, and yet you’re refusing the instinct, and while you’re resisting, you’re also freezing. When I am faced with hard choices, I ask myself one question.”

A long pause stretches, and I’m all ears, but he’s not saying anything. What is it? I pinch my lips together, forcing myself not to ask.

“It’s a simple question, and when answered, I have more clarity of thought and can act on thoughts that produce results. I don’t like to sit around and wait for others to make decisions for me.”

What’s he saying? He’ll make decisions for me if I don’t decide on what to do about my current situation?

“Because,” he says at my ear, and my heart speeds up as he moves my hair away from my neck, then touches his lips to my skin, “when you give other people the power to make decisions for you, you’ve transferred the power to them. So ask me where we are right now.”

I say nothing.

A claw traces from the corner of my eye to my neck, and he purrs louder.

“I’ve made a decision for you.” He grabs my hip and pulls me closer to him, trapping my cold feet between his. He covers my two hands with his one. “The thing I regret is starting the fire in the first place. There will be no fire tonight or tomorrow. The only heat you get is from my body. I am certain you will make a choice now that you see I will take action anyway.”

“So you’ll do what you want, but it’s going to be on my terms or yours. Is that what you’re saying?”

“When you accepted my gift, I won a night and the right to mount you.”

“I don’t want you to mount me.”

“Nevertheless, you took the pelt, the fire, the shelter, the food, and you are a prize in our games.”

Tears accumulate in my eyes. I’m helpless. Sure, I can snarl and snap at him, get pissed off and start running around or running away, though I’m fairly certain the smartest thing to do is to stay with this alien. I have nowhere to run, and night on this planet is brutal. I’d know. I spent the first night after crashing alone, and I nearly froze to death. In the morning, Feli found me shivering and tossed me a fur coat. If he hadn’t, I’d have frozen the next