Dzar-Ghan (Alien Barbarians of Vandruk #3)

13. Chapter 13

13 JENNA

I wasn’t a medical doctor, but I had hit my head enough times to know the signs to watch out for in case this wasn’t a simple head injury but something more serious like a brain injury.

My head throbbed, but I suspected more from my skin being pulled tightly by the swelling than anything else. Initially, I had felt dizzy when I woke up, but most uncomfortable had been my contacts, which had been in my eyes for nearly twenty-four hours by then and in dire need of taking out. Being half blind was hard enough, but being half blind on an alien planet was… terrifying.

Dzar-Ghan had been cute by helping me put them back into their little baths, but he had seemed grossed out by the process. I didn’t blame him. I had seen plenty of humans be grossed out by it. I had used them since I was five years old. Putting them in and out was like second nature to me, but sleeping in them was never a good idea, even though, technically, I hadn’t been sleeping. Semantics.

At least I had my trusty old glasses. I had made sure to pack replacements for them as well as the contacts, plenty of them. Without either, I would be lost like a bat in daylight. Everything was fuzzy, even the floor beneath me.

Dzar-Ghan held out a pack of leaves for me, indicating to put it on my forehead. The leaves felt heavier than they should have and cool, very cool. Intrigued, I opened the leaves and discovered the moondust I had collected earlier. It, too, felt cooler than it had when Dzar-Ghan had pulled it off the boulder for me. There had to be some kind of chemical reaction between the two that—

Dzar-Ghan said something I didn’t make out. Questioningly, I looked at him. He pointed at the furs. Oh no, were we going to have that discussion again? If my memory didn’t fail me, that had been right before I hit my head… I gave the tent pole a nasty glare. I shook my head, but the quick movement made me dizzy enough that I had to pull my glasses off and rub my eyes.

“Nek,” Dzar-Ghan sounded exasperated. He pointed at the furs, folded his hands, and placed them to the side of his head, closing his eyes and making a snoring sound in the universally accepted meme of going to sleep.

“Oh, yes, yes, sure.” I dared a nod but made an effort to keep my neck and head straight.

He pointed at the furs again, and obediently, I lay back down, took my glasses off, put them within easy reach. I gave him a suspicious glance, but he only lay down next to me. Which wasn’t what I usually permitted either, not that I had ever had someone in the same room, eh, tent, with me after having only known him for a few hours, but that was beside the point. In reality, this was his tent, and even though I hadn’t been asked if I wanted to share it with him, I supposed he had saved my life, and we had bathed together, so…

I closed my eyes and tried to ignore his nearness, the warmth spreading from his body to mine. It wasn’t cold in the tent; a small brazier with a small fire gave up enough heat to keep the cooler temperatures from outside at bay. Normally, I hated sharing a bed with someone, even when I dated that someone. But Dzar-Ghan’s presence was… reassuring.

As soon as I closed my eyes, another problem arose. My bladder. It was full; like bursting full.

I bit my lower lip and tried to ignore the small pulse taking up in my bladder. I tried to remember the names and amount of rocks I had collected today, but it was of no use.

“Dzar-Ghan?”

He grunted noncommittally.

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

We had spent enough time together today that we had managed to establish the words for bathroom. He rose. “Come on.”

He held out his hand to help me up, and I fumbled for my glasses quickly, putting them over my nose while he pulled me to my feet. There was only a short moment of dizziness. The Tylenol helped with the pain, so I felt confident I could get this business over with quickly.

It wasn’t the first time I had to pee and do other things out in the wild. It wasn’t the first time either that a man watched over me while I did this—more often than not, it was by my trusty assistant Joe. My services had been requested all over the world, and I had peed in the African bush, the deserts in Iran, the rainforest in the Amazon, and so on. But never had I done this in front of a man I was attracted to.

I made the usual shooing motion for him to turn around, and with a grunt, he did so, while I pulled my pants down and squatted, listening to the telltale sound of him peeing. Men. They had it so freaking easy.

Come on, bladder .

There was no sound of a zipper, of course, but it was quiet enough out here for me to hear the scratching of his pants pulling together.

Come on, bladder .

It was a lot colder out here than in the tent, I mused, looking up at the trillions of stars above us.

Come on, bladder, I order you to release. Release. Release .

Just as Dzar-Ghan shuffled on his feet, my bladder finally obeyed. I danced a bit around during my squatting position so as not to pee on my feet. I futilely looked for a leaf before deciding it was better not to risk it, not after seeing the effect between a rock and a plant here. No way was I going to subject my most vulnerable parts to a science experiment, no matter how intriguing… No!

I did rub my hands on a leaf, though, hoping it was as oily as the ones in the lake. No such luck. I would have to resort to using one of the few I had taken with me for further analysis.

The lure of the beautiful sky made me look up one more time before we returned to the tent, but the sight meeting me froze me. Up in the sky was the most beautiful nebula I had ever seen. Not that I had ever seen one in real life, only in pictures. Still.

“Wow!”

“Koronae,” Dzar-Ghan said next to me.

“Nebula.” I gave him the English name like we had done all day.

His expression changed, becoming closed off. “Let’s go,” he ordered roughly.

More roughly than usual, even for him. I gave him a curious glance, but he studiously avoided looking at me. Instead, he turned and stomped toward the tent, expecting me to follow him. I wasn’t sure what had caused the shift in his mood, but I hurried to catch up with him. There was no telling what kind of creatures might lurk out here in the dark.