“Wow,” I say, as he grabs my leg in a firm grip and turns me, looking for more cuts. “Ow!” God, he’s strong.
“What about you?” I ask looking at his hand. He’s cradling it against his chest and it’s covered in blood now. This guy has a hole in his hand but he’s way more concerned with the scrape on my leg.
I slowly reach forward and take his wounded hand in mine. “Oh shit,” I whisper when he opens his fingers. I really did a number on him. “I’m sorry. You just caught me at a bad time.”
He’s holding his breath as he watches my face. I just ignore the heated gaze that he’s melting me with and focus on his palm. There’s so much blood.
“Is this going to work on you?” I ask as I crack open the stalk of the red leaf and squeeze out some gel onto my finger.
He stares at my lips as I talk and when I look back to his hand my cheeks are as pink as the blood leaking down his arm. I smear it over the entrance and the exit of the wound and he exhales long and hard. The bleeding stops almost immediately but it still needs to be wrapped up.
“Hold on,” I say, ripping a strip of fabric from my t-shirt. It’s my only shirt but it’s the least I can do. I skewered the poor guy and all he was trying to do was save my life.
“Here you go,” I whisper as I wrap the fabric around his hand. The blood and gel soak through the thin material making it stick to his skin. I tie a tight knot and sit back.
He stares at the bloody fabric and smiles. The sight is so unexpected that it startles me. The smile. It’s so human. I wasn’t expecting it.
“You can smile?” I ask, watching him curiously. I start to wonder about him. Are there more aliens like him? Does he have a family? A village? What other life forms are on this planet?
He grunts something that I don’t understand as he waves me towards the dead dinosaur. It’s clearly dead but I still get the chills as I limp over there. I don’t want to be anywhere near that thing.
The alien pulls out a knife that looks like it’s made of bone and slices a chunk of meat off of the velociraptor’s leg. My stomach groans as he shows me the lean meat. No bugs for me tonight.
“Ulat,” he says, waving me to follow him as he hurries away.
My leg is still hurting and I can manage to walk on it but not nearly that fast. I’m struggling to keep up when he returns with a concerned look on his face. He sees me limping and frowns.
“I just need a few minutes to shake this out,” I say, biting my bottom lip. “I got this.”
He steps forward, clearing a far distance with his long gait and scoops me up in his arms. “What the-” He tosses me over his shoulder like he’s some kind of caveman and I’m his new toy, which I guess he is, and which I guess I am.
“Put me down!” I order but he doesn’t listen. He just places his strong hand on my lower back, holding me in place as he walks off.
At least I get a perfect view of his back. The muscles ripple as he moves and it doesn’t take long to make me think of dirty thoughts.
After a few minutes, he puts me down in front of a proper cave, one that I can walk into rather than crawl through a tiny hole.
“Don’t ever carry me again,” I say as I sit down on a rock with a grimace. Fuck, my leg hurts. “I can walk. I’m not one of those prissy girls who need to be taken care of and pampered. Okay?”
He just grunts something in a happy tone as he rummages around outside of the cave, collecting sticks and thick branches that he breaks off the trees. My stomach growls as I glance down at the thick slab of raw meat on the rock beside me.
“I wonder what velociraptor tastes like.” I laugh. I guess I’m about to find out. How badass is that? Even the UFC champ, Heather Evans, hasn’t hunted and eaten a dinosaur.
Before long he’s got a fire going inside the cave and he’s roasting the dinosaur leg, which smells amazing.
“I’m so hungry right now,” I whisper as he cuts off a piece of the cooked leg and hands it to me. God, that’s good! I practically swallow it whole and before I can lick my fingers clean, he’s handing me another juicy piece.
“I am the predator,” I say as I stuff the meat into my watering mouth. “I am the killer.”
But I know who the real killer is. He’s sitting right beside me. I would have been eaten by the velociraptor instead of the other way around if he hadn’t come by.
“I’m sorry about your hand,” I whisper. “I can be a real bitch sometimes.”
He just smiles at me as he cuts off another piece of our dinner. He’s triple my size but he’s letting me eat first. Either he’s a real gentleman or he’s just trying to fatten me up before he throws me over the fire to cook me next.
I take the bite, letting my fingers slide over his. He feels so masculine. His forearms are as thick as my biceps. I’d love to see this guy hit a punching bag.
“What’s your name?” I ask, watching him as I eat.
He doesn’t understand what I’m saying. Shocking, I know.
“Rolanda,” I say, tapping my chest with my hand.