Not only did she lack any worthy virtues that would make her easily fit into the clan, the only good thing she was good at was lying. The other woman shared the same flaw. Did lies easily fall off all humans’ lips? He would warn Thorsen when he reached his ship what he had overheard when the women had spoken alone, unaware the Vikings could easily hear with their acute hearing abilities.
He rose slowly, so as not to alarm Raine into having another screaming fit that had taken all his willpower not to drop to his knees in agony when she had seen she had skewered one of the Olggans. He had only managed to do so because King Jurzed had been watching him and had showed no pain himself. He would have skewered himself on the rod she was holding before showing weakness in front of the fierce warrior.
“Are we almost there?”
His anger decreased at the small whimper he heard in her voice.
“Já. Not long.”
He must make allowances for the woman. She was new to the Viking ways and, until a short time ago, humans had no idea aliens even existed.
He would be gentle with her as she learned to be a wife to him. She deserved his gentleness; hadn’t she saved his life? Conveniently forgetting it was just a scratch, he snugly docked the nejim into the under-port of his ship. Then he tapped the side of the nejim, and it opened.
“We’re here.”
Getting off, he held his hand out to her. Her frightened gaze was mixed with curiosity as she looked around the small room where they held the nejims. “That wasn’t as bad as I expected.”
“I’m happy that you didn’t find the trip stressful.”
“I thought it would take longer to get to outer space.”
Not correcting her mistake, he retained his hold on her hand and ushered her to the metal doorway. As they approached, the door slid open quietly. As it did, her eyes widened at the windows where she could see outside.
“We’re not in outer space?”
“Neinn. Have a look.”
Raine immediately shook her head. “I’ll pass. I get vertigo when I look down from heights.”
“Ah … Then it’s better you don’t look,” he agreed, resuming walking forward along the small corridor to another door. Again, the door slid open during their approach to show a small, windowless room. Stepping inside, he tugged Raine into the elevator with him.
Feeling her hand clasp his hand tighter when it started moving, he reassured her. “The elevator is lifting us to the main part of my ship.”
“Okay. This is going to take time to get used to.”
“Most new experiences do. I’ve been in your place a few times during my lifetime. When I first started going along with Thorsen to trade with other planets, I was frightened,” he lied smoothly.
His wife gave him a searching glance.
Skars couldn’t hold back his laughter. “I was nervous,” he corrected.
“That I believe.” She gave him a smile that had his cock tingling again. “I can’t imagine you being frightened of anything.”
“You should see me if I come upon a cave of lanree. I’ll take off running as if Hades is chasing after me.”
The door slid open. Anxiously, he watched for her reaction. They would be spending much of their time in his ship once they left Earth. Many of the furnishings would be moved into the home that he would build for them.
“It’s beautiful.”
His shoulders straightened with pride at the awe she showed in her soft grey eyes. He also saw the gentleness she used when picking up a fragile vase the size of her palm.
Thinking she wanted to get a better look at the gold the vase was made of, he was surprised when she raised it higher to sniff the tiny flowers.
“What kind of flowers are these?”
“They are snowdrops.”
“I love them. I’ve never seen them before.”
“They are from Iaslamire.”
Skars considered her while she was focused on the flowers. With the riches he had traded for from other planets, what caught her immediate attention were flowers he had bought with mere change.
“How long do they last?” she asked, gently setting the vase back down.
“They only die if they are exposed to heat.”
She tilted her head in curiosity. “The cold doesn’t affect them?”
“No. They flourish in cold temperatures.”
“Then we need to make sure they don’t get hot. They’re lovely.”
“As are you,” he complimented her.
She self-consciously smoothed her hands down to her sides. “Thank you, but I’m aware of the way I look.”
He started to argue, but stopped when he noticed her peeking at him through her lowered lashes.
“But I am much more attractive when I’m able to blow out my hair instead of letting it dry naturally. We’ve had access to a shower where we’ve been hiding, but we’re afraid to use the battery-operated blow dryer Milly found.”