Dzar-Ghan (Alien Barbarians of Vandruk #3)

5. Chapter 5

“He wants you to go with him. He promises to let you explore Vandruk and take your samples,” Amber told me after a short exchange between her and Dzar-Ghan.

“So do you think you can figure out how to get rid of all the rocks blockading the entrance?” Amber asked.

“I have to look at it, but many caves have more than one entrance. One just has to find it.” I shrugged. “If everything else fails, there is always brute force.”

“Explosives,” Amber whispered, and I assessed her questioningly.

“You have experience with explosives?”

“I was in the Navy.”

Well, that I would have never guessed.

“Do you have explosives?” Amber eyed me with a mix of suspicion and hope.

“It’s pretty standard in my line of work,” I hedged. I hadn’t asked anybody if I could bring them, and nobody had told me not to, so I packed the few charges I had. It wasn’t enough to fell a mountain or anything, but it was enough to put a hole in it to have a deeper look at anything the rock wanted to tell me or to even find some gems.

Inside me, a burning sensation took root I knew all too well. Excitement. This was a completely different challenge than I thought I would face, but one that I felt more than up to. A few years back, I had assisted in opening another cave, sealed up for centuries. It had been extremely delicate work because archeologists suspected a grave of utmost importance was inside. A long-lost king, buried inside a mountain and sealed for thousands of years. It had been one of my proudest moments when I opened the cave without destroying any of the artifacts inside.

Amber smirked. “What else did you bring?”

Despite my earlier, not completely resolved suspicions about her, I grinned and opened one of my three backpacks. I pulled out some chem sticks, which, when broken, would illuminate any dark area. Not as good as a flashlight, but since no metal survived on Vandruk for longer than a few minutes, it seemed like a good choice.

“Nice.” Amber nodded her approval.

“Here, take some.” I held out a pack of five.

“I couldn’t…” But the look in her eyes said how much she wanted them, so I pushed them into her hands.

“Trust me, I brought enough. And this.” I held out a box of MREs.

“Fuck, is that beef ravioli?” Amber’s fingers flexed.

Laughing, I handed it to her. “Here, I brought some extra ravioli.”

“I like you.” Amber’s smile widened.

“I think I like you too,” I admitted, meaning it. I had never connected with anybody like I did with her, especially not after only a few minutes.

Again, as if reading my mind, she said, “Don’t worry, everything on Vandruk seems to happen in fast-forward motion.”

I didn’t know why, but my eyes turned automatically to Dzar-Ghan.

“Ready?” he asked in English, startling me.

“He speaks English?”

“Only a few words so far, but I’m sure you’ll be able to teach him some more.” Amber winked conspiratorially, making my cheeks flush.

Dzar-Ghan waved his hand impatiently. If it was true that he wanted me as his mate , the dude had some serious trouble in the courting department. I wasn’t about to follow a man, eh, alien, because he crooked his fingers. I wasn’t… or was I?

I told myself I would go with him because he offered me something I wanted more than anything. I wanted to open that cave for him. Challenges were my driving force. I would not follow him because he was the most gorgeous, magnificent man I had ever seen. Or because he stirred fascinating, unknown sensations in my tummy.

“If you feel uncomfortable, you can come with us too,” Amber invited. “We’re going to Svengrod, Dzur-Khan’s lands. I’m sure there will be plenty to study there and on the way.”

I looked from Amber to Dzar-Ghan. “He won’t hurt me?”

Amber didn’t even blink. “No.”

“All right then, big guy, take me to your cave.” Once the words were out, my face flushed with color as the realization hit of what else they could mean.

Amber, not missing a beat, laughed and slapped my shoulder, making me stumble forward. “You’re okay, McKenzie.”

Where I would have flinched on Earth about being touched, I didn’t mind Amber’s at all. It was a gesture of friendship I had enviously watched others give or receive, and now that I experienced it for the first time, I hungered for more. I wondered if there was something in the air on Vandruk that changed how my brain fired neurons, or maybe it was just me so starved and ready for a new start that I was finally allowing myself to open up more.