The First She ✓ (Ezron Book 1)

NINETEEN

Vrox stared at the boy that was now crumpled on the ground as Kira squirmed in his arms.

He found himself feeling wary and unsure. It was then that he realized just how protective he had become of Kira. The youngster was troublesome and tempered, but he had a sweet side too.

The thought of the unconscious child waking up and striking Kira made his lips pull back and flash his aching teeth. He wasn't planning on hurting the other boy, but he would give him the scare of his life if he tried to offer Kira anything other than kindness.

Two small, smooth hands cupped each side of his face and pulled his head down. A worried Kira was staring at him longingly.

With another wary look, he carefully swung Kira to his back, and then made way to his latest responsibility. He kneeled beside the other boy, gripping Kira's thigh to keep her in place. The soft, smooth, warmth under his hand surprised him for a split second since he wasn't used to touching such fragileness.

He released the meaty thigh almost reluctantly, and then gripped the shoulder of the unconscious child. He shifted him so that his face wasn't lying against the dirt and then examined him.

His face was a dark tan, and his body was slender.

Vrox's eyes kept journeying south, widening when they recognized two protrusions on his chest.

He had seen this feature somewhere before– on Kira. Why were the two lumps on this boy too? Was it possible that they had the same illness? Were they brothers, perhaps? Was this illness contagious?

Vrox hoped not. He liked his chest flat and was happy with the two balls attached to his cock. He didn't need any more balls in his life.

A shift in the trees distracted him from the horrifying picture of him with breasts.

Is that a predator?

He placed a hand under the child's back and knees and then picked him up. With Kira on his back, he began to jog away from the scene.

He prayed to the mothers that they didn't cross anything toothy. The chances were high since the boy had been screaming for all he was worth, announcing his location to every creature that was nearby.

To his relief, they only crossed a pack of harmless tuki on their way back to the cave.

He placed the boy on the ground, and Kira took his momentary preoccupation to hop off his back. She kneeled beside him, pushing the unknown girl's braids aside.

A human.

It was wrong for her to feel relief since this girl was now as fucked as she was, but she couldn't rein the emotion. As sweet as Vrox was, he couldn't really provide much conversation. It was nice to meet an English-speaker for a change.

She watched Vrox's massive hands reach for the girl, landing on her breasts before Kira could stop him. As soon as the sight registered, she grabbed his wrists and pulled them away.

"Gun," she whispered, cringing from second-hand embarrassment.

Vrox looked down at his wrists, confused by her reprimand.

"You should be thanking me," she chuckled. "I just saved you a slap to the face. I don't know about the women natives of this planet, but Terran females can be fierce."

He scanned the body of the newcomer again, stopping at the apex of her thighs.

"Don't even think about applying your medicine down there," she chuckled.

Vrox replied something, before looking at the mouth of the cave to examine the sky, seeming to be more alert than usual.

With a move that she hadn't been expecting, he sat on the ground and reached for her hips. Within a second, he had set seated across his thighs. Kira stiffened with surprise, and Vrox either didn't notice or didn't' care. He kept her there, intertwining his hands over her stomach.

She didn't know what inspired the move, but she doubted he was trying to be romantic. Something told her the guy didn't even know what romance was.

Heartbeats went by, and she waited for the urge to squirm with discomfort. She surprised herself by leaning back and resting her head against his chest. She began to doze off, planning the questions she was going to ask the unconscious stranger.

Vrox didn't move a single muscle as he held her, devoting his attention to both the entrance of the cave and the new girl.

When a small shift came from the ground, adrenaline shooted up Kira's bloodstream. Vrox protectively pulled her back to his chest, eyeing the girl with suspicion.

"Brandon?" the girl called out, placing her forearm against the dirt to sit up.

"He's not here. A lot has happened. Are you feeling okay?"

The girl's face snapped with attention, her hair swinging.

"It's you again..." she exhaled, scraping her arms against the dirt in her attempt to crawl away.

Kira raised a hand, subconsciously trying to signal her to calm down. "We won't hurt you. Can you tell me your name?"

"The... thing behind you. He..."

"This is Vrox," Kira explained with a pat to Vrox's scaled forearm, which was snared around her waist. "He's harmless. I promise."

"Where is my brother? Where is Brandon?"

Her eyes were jumping around with disarray, trying to consume her new reality.

"Brandon Trenton from the NASA Engineering division?" Kira asked.

"Yes! Take me to him, please. Please! Oh my god, this is so fucking weird." Her bewildered gaze was honoring Vrox.

Kira could empathize with fear. Vrox was a seven-foot, scaled, pant-less caveman.

"I worked with Brandon a few times. I... I was with Cherry when I was teleported to this place. I'm sorry, but I don't know how to get back. Judging from your questions, I don't suppose you do either."

She rubbed her pulsing temples, trying to dismiss the headache that was starting to get comfortable in her brain.

"Cherry? The scientist? You're the girl that went missing?"

Kira nodded, breathing heavily to fight her pending panic attack.

"This is bad. This is so fucking bad," the girl blurted.

"We'll get home someday," Kira assured, though she didn't believe a word in that sentence.

"We won't! They're destroying the portal!"

"What? No! Cherry would never allow that," Kira argued, her bottom lip trembling as furiously as her heart.

"She... she was against it. She tried to fight NASA, but the technology was deemed too dangerous. My brother was invited to the event where they were going to destroy it. I was with him. The last thing I remember was getting too close. I just wanted a picture of it; that's it. I didn't want this to happen!"

Her tears kept coming, and it took Kira a second to recognize that she had joined the girl in her pain. Their eyes remained locked– brown on brown– as they mourned their home.

Vrox watched liquid pour out of the other boy, but he was more interested in Kira's moisture. He ran his fingers across his cheeks, trying to get rid of the sign of distress.

With a sniffle, Kira turned and furrowed her head against his chest, needing his strength now more than ever.