Fall (Hold #3) Read online

  Feeling strangely reassured by his inquisitive inspection, Lenna didn’t resist.

  She knew enough about hostile encounters to know that acting like there was something to fear sometimes created something to fear.

  The Hairy Man had very nice eyes, she couldn’t help but notice—so dark they almost looked black, large, and almost velvety.

  But the rest of him was so unkempt it was hard to tell if he was sapient or not.

  He leaned forward as he studied her face. Then he took some of her hair in his big, dirty hand and peered at it. Her hair was blond, and it seemed to confuse him. It couldn’t have been the color, since the Neanderthal had been blond as well, so maybe it was just that her hair was mostly clean and untangled. He was snuffling a lot, and he’d occasionally grunt out a monosyllable.

  Then he looked lower, down to her body. Lenna didn’t stop him until he brought a hand down to her shirt, as if he were going to pull the fabric away and expose her breasts.

  There were limits to the extent she’d accept a courtesy inspection by some sort of grunting, snuffling caveman.

  He looked briefly annoyed when she swatted his hand away, but then he appeared to lose interest in her completely.

  He’d turned back to the dead Neanderthal when Lenna glanced out to the grassy plain and noticed more humanoids approaching. Some were too far away to see clearly, but the two closest ones looked a lot like the Hairy Man—one’s hair was graying, and the other was shorter and even more revolting.

  When those two arrived, they all began to grunt at each other, and Lenna realized that they weren’t wordless Neanderthals after all.

  They seemed to be speaking a real language. It wasn’t one she could understand, of course, but they appeared to be using organized speech and not just grunting and gesticulating as a pre-lingual species would do.

  As she was concentrating on the guttural, incoherent conversation, another man approached without her noticing.

  When she heard a fourth voice from behind her, she almost jumped. She whirled around to look at the newcomer and jerked in surprise.

  It was one of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen in her life.

  Unlike the other ones, this one wasn’t covered in hair. He was clean-shaven, and his long dark hair was restrained in a sleek braid that fell down his back. His skin was smooth and tanned, and the muscles of his arms and legs—which weren’t covered by the animal skin tunic he wore—rippled gorgeously.

  The two other men who followed were also well-groomed, although not as attractive as the first one. Lenna couldn’t tell if she was dealing with two different species of humanoid here, or if half of them cared about hygiene and half didn’t.

  The Gorgeous One gave her a dismissive glance and turned to say something to the Hairy Man.

  The Hairy Man responded, gesturing toward the slain Neanderthal.

  Lenna couldn’t understand anything the men were saying, although she listened carefully, trying to detect any familiar words. They looked so much like humans that she couldn’t believe they were a true alien species—at least, not completely. But, if they were human or part-human, they would have had to get to this planet somehow, long enough ago for any memory of civilization to have vanished.

  Lenna couldn’t recognize any words at all, so she had no evidence of their ancestors originally speaking an Earth language. But she was able to discern that they were discussing the death of the first man. The Gorgeous One even stepped over and spit on the body.

  It wasn’t a hard gesture to interpret—on any planet.

  Lenna was starting to wonder if she’d been rescued at all. No one seemed to care that she was unharmed. Maybe the Hairy Man had killed the first man just to kill him. Not to save her life.

  She was glad to be alive—whatever the motivation for her rescue—but she would prefer for someone to acknowledge her presence. After all, she was hoping these strangers might be of some help to her.

  She was so distracted by the conversation that she didn’t notice the short, revolting one had approached her from behind, until she felt his hands on her shirt. He pulled away the torn fabric to reveal her skin, making a noise that was recognizably one of sleazy interest.

  Lenna gasped in surprise and reacted instinctively. She turned on her heel and kicked out her right leg, hitting him squarely in the groin with her foot. At least, it should be his groin, if he was made like a human male.

  Apparently, he was. He huffed out in pain and bent over, just as any man on any planet in Coalition space would have done.

  Lenna was used to taking care of herself, and she wasn’t about to put up with any victimization, even if she was abandoned and alone on this freakish, primitive world.

  But, after she’d lashed out, she realized how vulnerable her position was. She had no protection here, and she’d just struck one of the six males surrounding her. The others might not appreciate it. After all, by all appearances, these hunter-gatherer types had rather old-fashioned sensibilities.

  But the others didn’t defend their comrade. They looked over curiously, and the Gorgeous One sneered at the man she’d kicked, muttering something snide.

  The Hairy Man made a series of snorts and huffs. It wasn’t until she looked in his dark eyes that she realized he was actually laughing.

  Evidently, seeing his revolting companion hit by a female amused him.

  Lenna looked back suspiciously at the one she’d kicked, who was still bent over and moaning. She figured he’d be mad about being so humiliated, and she had no idea how he’d react.

  She tensed when he straightened up and snarled at her, taking two steps over with obvious aggression.

  But the Hairy Man barked out a sharp word that brought the other to a sudden stop.

  Lenna looked back curiously, trying to figure out if the Hairy Man was trying to protect her or if he just despised the other man. Since the Hairy Man was glaring coldly at the other one, she leaned toward the latter interpretation.

  Even now, none of them appeared particularly concerned about her, but at least they hadn’t decided to let that disgusting half-animal have his way with her.

  The others were still talking, completely disregarding her existence. During the discussion, the Hairy Man went over and retrieved his spear from the first man’s back.

  Still talking, all six of them turned around and started to walk away.

  Lenna blinked. “What the hell?” she muttered.

  Were they actually going to leave her here?

  “Hey!” she called out, running after them. “Hey! Wait! Wait!”

  They turned around, and the Gorgeous One’s mouth curled up in annoyance. He said something to her, but she couldn’t understand what it was.

  “Can I come with you?” She ran over to him, looking up at him pleadingly, searching for some way to make her request clear.

  They didn’t seem to be the most generous of people, but at least they might be able to protect her from wild animals and give her something to eat. She wasn’t a fool. She’d stand a much better chance of surviving with them than she would by herself.

  The Gorgeous One—who she was now suspecting was the leader—gave her a cursory once-over and sneered again.

  Lenna had always known herself to be an attractive woman, and she’d had plenty of male attention over the years. But evidently nothing about her face or body was appealing to the man in front of her.

  Since he wasn’t going to be swayed by attraction or kindness, she racked her mind for something she could offer him. All she had in her possession were the berries she’d found earlier. So, just before he turned away from her again, she stuck her hand in her pocket and thrust the half-crushed berries out at him.

  He jerked back in surprise and peered at the red berries with narrowed green eyes.

  The Hairy Man grunted out some sort of question, which the leader answered dismissively. Then the leader turned away from her again.

  Lenna, realizing she was losing her last chance
at protection, noticed the Hairy Man was still looking at her curiously.

  So she ran over to him and offered the berries. She felt like an absolute idiot—trying to give smashed berries to a dirty caveman—but she was too frantic to care.

  The Hairy Man carefully picked one of the berries out of her hand. Then he lifted it higher to study it, the upper part of his face—the only part that wasn’t covered with hair—conveying obvious confusion.

  Realizing that he didn’t even know what the berry was for, Lenna took one of them and put it in her mouth, with exaggerated slowness. “Mmm,” she murmured.

  The Hairy Man frowned and raised the berry to his mouth. As soon as he tasted it, his expression changed. He grunted something, and then looked at her, as if she were supposed to understand what he said.

  Lenna shrugged and offered him the rest of her handful of berries.

  He took them, eating a couple more.

  Nodding, he called out something to the others, who had already started walking away.

  The leader stopped and looked back at the Hairy Man. After some more discussion, he finally came over and ate one of the berries himself.

  After even more talk, he went over and took something off the belt of one of the other groomed men. Then he brought it over to Lenna.

  It was an empty leather sack. The handsome leader handed it to Lenna with a few words she didn’t understand.

  He turned away and started walking again.

  Lenna stared at the sack in bewilderment. Instinctively, she looked up at the Hairy Man, who was still standing beside her.

  Evidently reading her questioning expression, the man took the last berry in his hand and dropped it into the sack. Then he made another gesture, clearly telling her that she was to follow them.

  He too started to walk away.

  But now Lenna understood. She was allowed to go with them. And, in return, she had to fill up this sack with berries.

  She would have preferred to be a welcomed guest, but this was better than nothing.

  At least she’d have some chance of survival.

  So she jogged after them, hoping that she’d find enough berries, now that she’d cleared the forest. The ones she’d found before were all in the forest. There were clusters of trees around, though, even in the grassy plain, so she still had some hope.

  They walked for over an hour, and Lenna had to work to keep up. Now that they’d started, they didn’t even acknowledge her existence, except for the Hairy Man, who glanced back at her occasionally and made impatient gestures for her to hurry up.

  Under normal circumstances, Lenna walked just fine. But she’d been on her feet for almost three days, and she had cuts and bruises all over her body. Plus, she kept having to stop whenever she recognized the leaves that hid the berries she was supposed to collect.

  Frankly, it was very annoying to be constantly rushed under these circumstances.

  The large cut on her shin from the wolf’s fang was burning so intensely now she had trouble focusing on anything else. So, when she saw another patch of berries beneath a tree, she didn’t kneel down or crouch, but rather sat down completely in the hope of relieving some of the strain on her skin.

  She started picking the berries, relieved to see how many there were here. In a few minutes, her sack was almost three-fourths of the way full.

  She was about to get up when she felt strong arms on her sides, hauling her up from behind.

  With a startled shriek, she kicked her legs out and jerked her head back to see who it was.

  The Hairy Man. His big hands were spanning her ribs, and one of them was in direct contact with her skin, just under her breast, since her torn shirt had fallen open.

  It wasn’t a sexual advance, though. She realized that almost immediately. He was grunting at her again, his tone rough and bossy.

  Fed up with this treatment, Lenna snapped. “Let go of me, you asshole. I’m tired and injured, and you’re making me pick these damned berries!”

  He’d lifted her up to her feet, but he hadn’t released her yet. Her angry voice appeared to surprise him. He paused briefly before he grunted some more.

  Lenna felt a little hysterical, and she had to stifle a laugh. This was absurd. They couldn’t understand each other, and yet they were bickering as if they could.

  She struggled in his grip, gasping when she felt one of his fingers against the underside of her breast.

  He let her go, so abruptly that her knees buckled.

  She fell forward, crying out at the pain in her feet and legs.

  His face was really hard to read because of the ridiculous beard, but his eyes narrowed now, and he lowered himself onto the ground beside her.

  They had a brief scuffle as he tried to take possession of one of her legs—the one with the throbbing cut.

  He was snuffling when she finally let him look at it, and it was freaking her out. He’d leaned over, like he was smelling it.

  Disgusted, Lenna looked away. If he did anything too weird, she was going to have give up on him.

  But he didn’t even touch the cut. Instead, he just stood up and walked away.

  “Well, fine,” she muttered. “Go ahead and leave me here. I’ve never met such an ugly, selfish, smelly, rude…”

  She was still listing her grievances when the Hairy Man returned.

  He was carrying some leaves, and he was muttering under his breath too. If his expression was anything to go on, he was as annoyed with her as she was with him.

  “I don’t know what your problem is,” she said, although she knew he couldn’t understand, “I’m the one at a disadvantage here. It wasn’t like I got hurt just to slow you down.”

  He ignored her and crushed the leaves in his palm. Then he took hold of her ankle and stretched out her leg.

  Before she realized what he was doing, he smeared the leaves onto the deep, painful cut.

  She whimpered slightly as the leaves stung the wound, but, before she could object or pull away, the sensations grew blessedly numb. The leaves must be painkillers.

  “Oh. Thanks.” She didn’t feel particularly generous, but she realized that at least he’d been trying to help.

  He stood up, looming above her. Realizing his silent demand, Lenna sighed and leaned forward to grab the sack of berries at his feet.

  When she glanced up, from a different angle, she noticed something new. Something that made her twitch in surprise.

  She looked away quickly and stumbled to her feet. He hadn’t even offered her a hand.

  He grunted something else and motioned for her to get moving, his expression impatient and annoyed.

  Lenna blinked and started walking, her leg feeling a lot better, although her feet were still killing her.

  Well, one of her questions was answered. This Hairy Man was definitely human—as human as the sleek, handsome leader.

  At least, what she’d seen under his animal skin tunic was decidedly human. And male.

  He hadn’t been wearing any undergarments.

  And he had been hard.

  She wasn’t quite sure what to do with that information, except for cringe a little bit at the thought. Hopefully, she hadn’t been the thing that had turned him on. The idea of having sex with such a rough, hairy creature was not an appealing one.

  Now, if the Gorgeous One offered—and wasn’t an asshole—then maybe she’d consider it. But this one—this one couldn’t even be bothered to bathe.

  Surely he hadn’t gotten turned on looking at her bruised, bloody leg. Things were weird enough here as it was.

  He certainly wasn’t acting on lust. He was already a distance ahead of her, and there had been no warmth or interest on his face.

  She was stuck on this planet. That much was inevitable. And she had little chance of surviving on her own. Lenna had always been practical. It was how she’d managed to remain so completely independent all her life. She’d learned to make do with whatever help she was offered, but only for as long as she nee
ded it.

  But if a big, smelly caveman expected to have sex with her, she would have to make other plans.

  For now, she wasn’t going to worry about it. It could have just been a fluke. None of the men here seemed to have been swept away by her femininity.

  Hurrying to keep up and trying to ignore her aching hunger and the pain in her muscles, Lenna followed the Hairy Man to wherever he was going.

  Maybe it was hunting that turned him on.

  Two

  The following afternoon, the Hairy Man killed a large grazing animal that moved in herds and looked a lot like a deer.

  They’d been walking endlessly—and to no purpose as far as Lenna could determine—when they finally saw a small group of the animals in the distance. All of the men went after the deer, but the Hairy Man was the only one who killed one.

  To Lenna’s relief, this was evidently the goal of their expedition, and they immediately strung up the dead animal and turned toward some mountains in the distance to the east, carrying the carcass with them.

  Lenna was weak and exhausted and anxious, but she was deeply relieved when they finally reached a large cave set in a small grouping of hills as the sun was going down. A couple dozen men, women, and children came running out of the cave to greet the hunting party.

  This must be where the tribe, clan, or troupe had a permanent residence.

  She had no idea what would be waiting for her here, but at least she wouldn’t have to keep walking.

  A few kids came up to check her out—poke her shoulder and touch her hair—but everyone else simply ignored her. It was a strange and disconcerting feeling, to be so completely irrelevant that no one even noticed her presence.

  She stayed at a distance and watched, finding a mostly flat rock to sit on, catch her breath, and observe as the men started a large bonfire in the open space outside the cave and the women began to skin and gut the deer.

  Everyone appeared pleased and celebratory, so large animals like this must be some kind of victory.

  They cut the meat into small pieces and made a stew with about a third of it, using those turnip-like roots she’d found before and some other roots and herbs. The stew smelled delicious, and Lenna was starving. She could understand why everyone seemed so happy about the hunting party’s success.