Wray (5 page)

Kim silently watched as he easily ripped open
the package, heard his stomach rumble before he handed it back.
Slowly she took the now unwrapped bar from him. "When did
you
last eat?" She found herself asking.

"That is unimportant." Wray said
dismissively. “Eat.” He gestured to the bar, but to his shock
instead of doing as he ordered, she broke the bar in two, holding
half of it out to him. Why would she do that? "That is for you." He
told her gruffly.

"We'll share." She said and for the first
time Wray glimpsed what had helped her survive the Ganglians...
stubbornness. Slowly, making sure not to startle her, he took the
bar.

“Thank you.”

Nodding, Kim forced herself to take only a
small bite of her half, ignoring the urge to stuff the whole thing
in at once. It was a little dry, a little salty, but also a little
sweet in a maple bacon sort of way. Nothing had ever tasted so
good.

"Ganglian is the name of the species that we
found you with." He told her as they ate.

"Those stinky, hairy bastards are called
Ganglians?" Kim asked after she swallowed, a rule her mother had
drilled into her about not talking with your mouth full still
worked, even here.

"Yes." Wray couldn’t help but grin at her
accurate description of the Ganglians. It faded quickly when he
remembered
why
she was so accurate. "There is water in the
container next to you." He gestured to the other side of the rock
and the pouch he had refilled. Wray watched her closely as she ate;
worried she would be unable to tolerate Tornian food. Nutrient bars
weren't known for their tastiness, they were meant for a warrior's
survival in extreme conditions. He had never heard of a female
eating one.

Green eyes looked from him to the container
on the floor before she leaned down and picked it up. It reminded
her of those refillable water pouches runners used back on
Earth.

He was about to tell her how to open it when
she figured it by herself and took a cautious drink. After several
small sips of the cool liquid, she handed it to him.

“Do you want more to eat?” he asked after he
drank, handing it back to her.

“There’s enough?” she asked hopefully and saw
Wray hesitate.

“For you there is.” he told her.

Kim gave him a considering look. “Why just
for me?”

“You are female. I am male.” he stated as if
that explained it all.

“How many were there?” she asked, gesturing
to the bag that held the bars.

“Six.”

Kim looked into the bag and counted five
remaining bars. “You said we have been here two days.”

“That is correct.”

“You haven’t eaten since we arrived?”

“You were going to need the nutrition when
you woke.”

“But so do you.”

Wray gave her a confused look. “You are
female, you come first.”

“But…”

“Have another.” he ordered.

“Only if you do.” Kim argued back.

“No.” he shook his head. “You need it
more.”

“How much longer will we be here?”

Wray looked towards the cave’s entrance and
while he couldn’t see the storm, he could hear it and frowned.
“Storms this large have been known to last up to a week.”

“But someone will come?”

“Yes.” He nodded confidently. “My people will
come for us.”

Kim looked to the bars and thought about what
he said. In another lifetime, she would have eaten her fill and not
worried about the future, or him, but that was before she lost her
family, before the Ganglians.

They could be here for another five days and
there were only five bars left. Her gaze traveled to Wray; he would
let her eat them all if she wanted, taking none for himself. Why?
He was just as important as she was. Actually, he was more
important because she had no idea how to survive here.

“I can wait.”

“Kim….”

“You said you would tell me what you
knew.”

Wray saw the stubbornness return to her eyes
and sighed heavily, somehow knowing she wouldn’t budge.

“We were just leaving the Kaliszian space
when we intercepted a Ganglian ship leaving Tornian space. When we
boarded the ship, they resisted.” He saw her confusion. “Ganglians
never
resist. They are cowards with no honor. They thrive on
the pain of others.”

“Yeah, I figured that out.” Kim said quietly,
remembering how stinky bastard seemed to hiss happily whenever she
would scream. Shivering at the memory, she pulled her knees up to
her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

“Are you well?” Wray asked, not missing her
shiver.

“Just… please just keep talking.”

Wray nodded. “They weren’t always like that,
the Ganglians.” He saw her look at him in surprise. “They were once
a proud and honorable race, committed to protecting those weaker
than themselves. They were good friends of the Tornians.”

“What changed them?” Kim couldn’t stop
herself from asking.

“The great infection affected their minds,
warping them to the point that everything they once despised became
what they most desired. They began to prey on the weaker species in
the universes, capturing them so they could enjoy the pain they
inflicted until they sold them. It is why their ships are banned
from the Tornian Empire.”

“They were going to sell me? Make me a
slave?”

“Yes. It is how they survive now. They sell
the males they capture to the mines and the females to pleasure
houses.”

“Pleasure houses...” she whispered.

“Yes. They knew it would be an automatic
death sentence if we found you. It is why they hid you away.”

“Why me?” Kim asked, her eyes filling with
the remembered horror of what she had survived as she looked at
Wray. “Why did they take
me
?”

“Because you are beautiful.” Wray said before
he could stop himself.

“Beautiful?” Kim shook her head in denial;
maybe once she had been vain enough to think she was pretty but
beautiful… never. Jen was the beauty of the family. She’d received
her father’s height, her mother’s white blond hair and stunning
blue eyes. Kim had received her father’s unruly red hair, his green
eyes and her mother’s compact frame. No, she would never be
considered beautiful, especially not after the damage the Ganglians
had caused.

“Yes,” Wray told her firmly, “beautiful and
rare, to have hair the color of fire….” His voice trailed off as
his eyes ran over the amazing locks.

“It’s just red.” Kim whispered in denial.

“It is alive with fire. Your skin is as pale
and soft as the Moonflower and your eyes….” Wray looked deep into
them seeing her shock at his words. “Your eyes are the color of the
rarest gaspeite. You would have brought a great deal at a slave
auction.”

“I wouldn’t have lived that long.” She
whispered.

Kim’s barely uttered words brought Wray up
short. No
,
she wouldn’t have, she would
have died on that stinking Ganglian ship and he never would have
known such an exquisite creature existed. He surged to his feet,
growling.

Kim screamed, falling off the rock as Wray
surged to his feet, growling fiercely and knew she was about to
die. There was no way she could defend herself against him.

Wray froze when Kim screamed and watched her
fall off the rock
,
her eyes full of
terror. Oh
,
Goddess
,
what had he done? Where was his legendary control?
He
never
revealed his emotions,
never
allowed others
to know when he was upset, but with this female… from the moment he
discovered her crammed in that compartment, he was unable to
control his emotions. Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to
reassure her.

“I am sorry
,
Kim,”
unfortunately his voice came out rough and still full of rage,
“please do not be afraid of me. I would release my own life before
I would ever harm you.”

“You… you…" she stuttered, trying to sink
into the wall, ignoring the rocks jabbing her in the back.

“I was angry. Not at you,” he quickly
injected, “at the Ganglians, for what they did to you. It should
never have been allowed.” Wray forced himself to take a step back,
giving her the room she needed when all he wanted to do was bring
her close.

“Can they find us here?” Kim asked finding
she could breathe easier once he stepped back. “Before your people
do?”

“Who? The Ganglians?” Wray frowned and saw
her nod. “Kim…” his voice finally gentled as his rage left him,
replaced by disgust, at himself, for not explaining things better
to her. “The Ganglians that captured you are dead. They will never
harm you again.”

“D… Dead?”

“Yes. I should have explained this better to
you.”

“But we crashed... you said we were
attacked.”

“We were, I don’t know by whom yet, but it
wasn’t the Ganglians who took you, you have my vow. You have
nothing to fear from them. I will protect you.”

“But…” Kim winced when a rock poked her in
the back again.

“Are you hurt?” Wray stepped towards her.
“Have my actions harmed you?”

“No, I did this.”

“Because o
f me.
P
lease Kim, let me help you. I do not have a portable repair
unit here, but perhaps there is something I can do.”

“It’s just a bruise, I have lots of them.”
Looking at the hands she knew were damaged fending off the
Ganglian, she was shocked to discover them healed, the bruises and
cuts barely visible. “What?” she looked at Wray confused.

“The portable repair unit was able to heal
the worst of you
r
injuries.” Wray told her
again.

“Portable repair unit… you told me that
before, I just didn’t realize…” she looked at her hands then
silently took inventory of her body. The terrible pain that had
been with her since the first attack was gone. She hadn’t realized
it when she’d been trying to escape or when she’d been eating, she
almost felt… normal. Was that really possible?

Rising to her knees she slowly pulled up the
hem of the shirt she was wearing, bracing herself for the damage
she would find on her thighs; instead, she found pale skin with
just the faintest network of scars revealing the trauma she had
sustained.

“That's amazing…” she trailed off, frowning
at the black material in her hand, then looked at Wray, who was
dressed only in pants and boots and realized she was wearing his
shirt. He literally had given her the shirt off his back. He saved
her from the Ganglians. Saved her from running into the storm. He
had healed her injuries shared his food and what had she done in
return? She ran from him, attacked him, screamed at him. “I’m
sorry…” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

“For what?” Wray choked out. He had barely
been able to stop his groan at the sight of her lush pale thighs,
but the sight of her tears had his throat tightening. “You have
nothing to be sorry for, little one. I am the one that caused
this.”

“You gave me your shirt.”

“You had no coverings when I found you, you
were chilled.” He watched another shiver run through her small
frame and cautiously stepped closer. “You are again.
Please
,
Kim,” he held out a hand and
prayed to the Goddess that she would take it. “I do not want you to
become ill.”

Kim looked up into Wray’s gray eyes that
reminded her so much of Warrior's. They were pleading with her to
trust him, to take his hand. Could she?

Was this what Warrior had felt like when she
held out
her
hand? Was that why it had taken him so long to
come to her? To trust her? She hadn’t understood how much courage
it had taken him to reach out to her, to trust her not to hurt him.
Could she be that brave?

“Please, Kim.” Wray whispered so softly that
she had to strain to hear him, but she did and in those quiet words
she heard his concern, his worry, and his desperation… he thought
she was beautiful… reaching out she slipped a small hand into
his.

Wray had never been as relieved as when she
took his hand. Slowly he held out his other one and waited. When
she gave him the other hand too, he carefully pulled her up. “Did
you injure yourself? When you fell?” he asked quietly.

“No. It was just hard.” Her eyes never left
his.

“And you are soft.”

“Thank you for the shirt.” She whispered.

“I would give you everything I
have
,
Kim.” Wray vowed and saw her eyes
widen. “But first, I need to get you warm. Will you let me hold you
again?” he asked and held his breath, unsure how far her trust
would extend.

Kim frowned slightly as a foggy memory
surfaced from the dark. She had felt so safe when she was there,
had known nothing could harm her. Now she realized it was because
Wray had been holding her, keeping her warm and safe while she
slept. “I’d like tha
t
very much.” She said
softly and stepped closer to his warmth.

Slowly Wray moved backwards, keeping her
hands in his as he sat. Kim moved to his side and then hesitated.
“Kim?” he asked

“I….” Her pale skin started to turn rosy.
“I’ve never sat in a man’s lap before, I’m not sure how….” Her
voice trailed off.

Wray closed his eyes, relieved to hear her
say she didn’t know what to do. He refused to allow himself to
dwell on how comfortable she had seemed in his arms, as if she were
used to being held by a male. The thought of another male holding
her had troubled him deeply for some reason, but to know he was the
only one… slowly, making sure not to frighten her, he slipped his
hands around her waist and settled her across his thighs as his
arms enfolded her.

Kim immediately felt like she was home as his
arms surrounded her in warmth and she burrowed deeper into his
chest. “Will you tell me more?”