He sounded a rumble of amusement. “I’ll make sure to choke the beast.”
The banter helped distract her. “You do that, and I’ll set up the nicest memorial for you.”
A look past Zeph showed her Tumoro with his excited face pressed against the small oblong window. Tumoro was like her insofar as he’d never visited a place so wild. Unlike her, he was fascinated instead of terrified.
“We’re almost there,” the operator announced. “Three more lengths and we’ll be settling inside their perimeter.”
“Is there a fence? Like at the port?” she asked. “Or are we going to be chased indoors by wild beasts who think I look tasty?”
“I wouldn’t blame any animal,” Zeph said, purring. “You’re the tastiest thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.”
His words helped distract her.
“Yeah?” she murmured, putting her face close to his. “You're pretty delicious too.”
She brushed her lips against his. He moved the hand that was petting her back up so he cupped her head and pressed gently. Opening her mouth, she welcomed a deeper kiss.
All thoughts of the deadly jungle disappeared.
Despite making love last night and this morning, Han felt lust rush through her system. It was like she was a teenager again!
She moaned into Zeph’s mouth, and his purring changed to the sexual rhythm she loved so much. It made her want to strip him down and ride him right in that chair.
She moved one hand to rub on a scent gland, making him shudder.
A hard jolt brought her out of the make-out session. Ending the kiss, both of them looked around to see they’d landed and the controller was flipping switches.
“First Matriarch Han, we’re here!” Tumoro said, his body vibrating with excitement. Now that he’d decided she and Zeph were his new family, he could relax into perceiving everything as a grand adventure. “Oh, I think I saw something in the bushes!”
“That’s a nafty,” the controller said. “I saw a herd just as we were landing.”
All the anxiety Zeph had pushed away with his kiss came flooding back. “How do we scare them off?” she asked, wishing she had some kind of projectile weapon.
“No need to worry,” the controller said and pressed a final switch. The leaper’s motor lowered into an idle mode and the side door to the vehicle opened. He pointed out the open door. “See, you’re safe.”
Han was relieved to see the tall zapper fence between them and the dense wilderness beyond. As she stared past the fence, she saw multiple things move but couldn’t clearly distinguish them from the thick plantlife. Was that a horn or claw she saw?
More tree branches and bushes moved as she got off Zeph’s lap and exited the leaper. He and Tumoro were right behind her.
No sooner was she standing on the ground than a terrible scream filled the air. It ended as abruptly as it started. She almost got back on the leaper and demanded the controller take her with him!
She couldn’t wait to get off this planet and back to civilization.
The three of them waited beside the jumper as the operator stood at the door and handed them their stuff from the secured lockers. Han was a little surprised no one came out of any of the buildings to greet them.
“The trundle is missing,” the operator noted after handing them the last bag. They’d packed as many supplies as they couldfor the night they’d need to spend here before the larger leaper brought the cargo boxes tomorrow.
“Trundle?” Han and Zeph asked in unison.
The operator pointed to a spot in the fence that looked like a square door. “That’s the trundle access point. If they were here, there’d be a trundle parked just beyond there with the back hatch against the door. Trundles are designed to be electrified on the outside so they can be left parked and become part of the fence. They must be out collecting samples or tracking something.”
She felt Zeph relax a little behind her, probably because he had a little reprieve from seeing his sister. Han kinda understood. After missing this holiday season, she wasn’t looking forward to facing her family, especially her mom and aunts. It had to be worse for Zeph; he hadn’t seen his sister since they were young.
She couldn’t imagine life without her family and community. They might be noisy, intrusive, and irritating, but they were also loving, caring, and supportive. Honestly, was there one without the other?
“I can’t wait for them to get back,” the operator said apologetically. “You’re safe here, but you have the option to return with me and come back tomorrow with the cargo.”
Even though the operator was looking at her, she moved her gaze to Zeph. “It’s your call.”
