He nodded and looked at the small shelf that held the injectable translator. “We can do the translator now, or a bit later if you’d like?” Brawn was so unaccustomed to asking what someone wanted or didn’t want to do. “It shouldn’t take too long for Lukin and Thorque to bring back some meat. You’ll feel better with some fresh food inside your belly.”
She nodded but didn’t respond.
He went over to the shelf and grabbed the syringe, language cartridge, and the gel that would numb her neck for the injection. It was a barbaric procedure, given the advancements the galaxy now had to offer, but they didn’t have the technology with them in the cave to enable her to inhale it instead of getting the shot.
They might be more advanced than the human race, but Hades warriors lived simplistic lives. Their spacecrafts were far superior to many other species’ ships in the galaxy, but when it came to their homes on Hades, their clothes and weapons, they kept it simple.
Swords and knives built from the indestructible black rock of his home planet made the weapons his kind used to take down their enemy nearly unbreakable. Their clothing was nothing more than pants made from the leather of the wings from the Geila birds on Hades. Occasionally, they wore clothing that covered their wings, but that was rare, because wearing shirts was not smart, given the fact that they needed their backs free from restriction to unleash their wings.
They preferred a simpler life, one where they hunted for their food, killed the beasts with their bare hands, and built the items in their home. It was somewhat primitive living, but it suited them, and they felt warriors should live off what they acquired by sheer strength and willpower alone.
Brawn grabbed everything and moved toward her. “Please, have a seat.”
She listened to him immediately, and although she was nervous as she glanced down at the needle, he was pleased she obeyed. Brawn and his species were versed in many languages, and although they knew English, the language was a dying dialect. He sat on the bench beside her, pushed the heavy fall of her dark hair away from her shoulder, and lifted the injector.
Her eyes widened slightly, but he smoothed the numbing gel over the spot he’d press the needle into. The gel worked instantly, and then he stuck her with the needle while keeping his eyes locked with hers.
When he slipped the disk into the chamber, the injector lit up a brilliant white, indicating it was activating. He placed his thumb on the depressor and injected her with the Hades dialect chip, and she made a small noise in the back of her throat. “I’m sorry.” He apologized for hurting her, but he already had the needle out and leaned back, giving her space.
“I’m fine.” She glanced up at him and cupped the side of her neck. Her eyes widened slightly, and he grinned. “I just said that in your language.”
He nodded. “Yes, the chip travels through your bloodstream and into your brain.”
She clearly didn’t know what to say in response, because all she did was stare at him. She rubbed the spot on her neck once more and then dropped her hand back onto her lap. “I want you to know I’m not afraid of the three of you, even though I probably should be.”
He reached out and brushed his thumb along her cheek.
“You’re so smooth and soft to the touch.” He looked into her green eyes, took in the slope of her nose, of her high cheekbones, and the fact that her flesh was white like the bone he used to make his tables. “So beautiful.” He caught the way her breathing changed, how it quickened, and the scent of her arousal was increasing. His breeding need was rubbing off on her, seeping into her very pores so she was becoming more inflamed with it.
They both started to breathe heavier now, and Brawn couldn’t help but stare at the fullness of her lips that were red like his body. He ached for her, needed to have her, and he wasn’t sure if he could wait. Moving closer to her, he cupped the side of her throat and stroked the area where he had just injected her. “If you only knew the need that my kind has for their mate, the desire to breed with them, protect them at all costs, and have them feel safe, you would be so fucking frightened of me, Minka.” He lifted his gaze to her eyes, saw how wide they were, and although she might have appeared scared, he scented her desire. “You want me, want my brothers, but we don’t want to push you.”
She shook her head, ran her tongue along her bottom lip, and he swore her entire body shook right in front of him. His inner beast rose up inside him like a living entity, trying to take control and complete the breeding with his mate.