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Authors: Laurann Dohner

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BOOK: Berrr's Vow
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Startled, Shanna stared down at him as he sniffed at her again. A soft growl came from his throat and she saw his anger when their gazes locked together.

“I smell blood on you. Remove my shirt and show me your injuries so I may tend to them. In all that has happened I had forgotten you were harmed. I deeply apologize to you.”

“It’s just my wrists from where those metal handcuffs dug into my skin and scratched me. I’m fine.”

Rising to his feet, Berrr frowned at her. “Remove the shirt or I will do it for you so I may tend your injuries. You placed yourself in my care and I take that duty seriously.”

Chapter Three

 

“I can do it myself.” Shanna was annoyed as the large guy gripped her arm, nearly dragging her into the bathroom.

“It is my duty to care for you and I will do just that,” he growled.

Gasping, Shanna found herself spun and lifted by Berrr, who had gripped her hips, and sat her gently on the long counter in the bathroom. He reached for the shirt before she realized his intent, feeling it jerked open to reveal her body. He tugged hard, almost unseating her from the counter as he tore the shirt down her arms.

“Stop that,” Shanna snapped, slapping at the hand that reached for her wrist.

She missed since he had good reflexes and jerked his hand back. He growled at her, bright blue eyes narrowing as his sharp teeth showed when his lips parted. He glared at her.

“Stop resisting me.”

“Stop manhandling me.” She couldn’t help but feel bare and exposed in her bra and briefs, not to mention chilled in the bathroom that had to be about seventy degrees. Her curious gaze flew around the good-sized room and spotted another smaller fireplace in the corner while trying to distract herself from her discomfort. Her eyebrows rose. “There’s a fireplace in here too?”

Berrr turned his head, following her look. “Alluwn said she was always cold living with me so she wanted warmth in every room I was not in.”

Wincing inwardly, Shanna turned her attention on the man hovering in front of her. Either Alluwn was a bitch or Berrr had some serious husband flaws going on that made his not-so-ex-wife really hate him. She didn’t know him well enough to decide who the bad guy in that relationship was but from what he’d said, he had a bunch of kids so maybe the woman had resented popping out so many babies for him.

He turned away from her and walked to a cupboard built into the wall and jerked it open to remove a box. Shanna guessed correctly that it was a first-aid kit as Berrr placed it next to her on the counter, opening it to reveal the contents. She took a deep breath and watched while the man removed things from the box.

“I really can do this myself,” she said softly. “You don’t have to do it.”

He lowered to his knees in front of her but even on them he was abnormally tall as he stared Shanna directly in the eyes at face level. He frowned at her, looked away and reached for one of her hands.

“It is my honored duty and privilege to care for you when you are injured, Shanna. That is the Zorn way and you are demanding to be treated like one of our women so allow me to do just that. I would never harm you so hold still and do not fight me.”

That made her eyebrows arch.
Is he for real?
Her ex-husband would never have cleaned up anything, especially not blood from her skin, but that’s exactly what Berrr proceeded to do. He was careful to not hurt her as he reached around her body, turned on the water and gently proceeded to pat at the scratches on each wrist. Shanna tore her attention from watching his face to watching his large hands gently touching her wrists while he used a hand towel to dab them dry. He studied the small cuts for a long moment before he reached for the box again.

“You really don’t have to do this, Berrr.”

An amazingly blue gaze lifted, locking with Shanna’s. “You shouldn’t have been hurt at all. Collis were once our allies but lately we’ve had trouble with them when they attacked a few of our vessels and now they dare come to my planet with slaves trying to sell them to my warriors, tempting them with human women to break my laws.”

“I’m not real thrilled about any of this either. I have a life back on Earth, you know. I was minding my own business on my way home from work and then bam! I’m attacked, woke up in a cage, and then stripped to sell to your…ah…warriors. What about the other women who were taken with me?”

He frowned. “Someone alerted us to the auction so my warriors are hunting them down but we thought they brought their Collis women to sell. If the women have bound to the warriors who purchased them they will stay where they are. My warriors will be punished harshly if those warriors made them slaves and they will be freed like you were and taken under protection.”

“So are they going to end up here staying in your house too?”

Shaking his head, Berrr smeared her cuts with a smelly white cream that was soothing to her skin. She watched him wrap each of her wrists carefully with a thin gauze-like material and tape it to hold it in place. It was a little overkill but she wasn’t going to complain about the sweatband-sized bandages on each wrist. When he was done he shut the kit and slowly rose to his feet.

“There will be no more humans in my house.” He looked angry as he said the words. “One is more than enough.”

Shanna’s temper flared to life. “What the hell is your deal about humans?”

Black eyebrows arched as Berrr frowned down at her. “I do not have a deal with humans.”

“What’s your problem? What in the hell do you have against us? That’s what I’m asking you. First you get really angry that someone dared sell us, which got me thinking you liked humans and you sure found my neck fascinating. You liked that about me a hell of a lot by the feel of it but ever since we arrived in this house you’ve shown me what you really think about my kind. You tried to dump all your house helpers’ chores on me and then you won’t even let me call you by your first name. Did you think I didn’t notice that? Am I a second-class citizen? Is that it? You should have seen the total distaste on your face when I asked if the other women would be brought here. You don’t like humans, do you?”

Frowning, Berrr softly growled. “I have no problem and I don’t dislike humans. You are not a second-class citizen even though I don’t know that meaning. You are now a Zorn citizen of this planet like any other Zorn.” He took a deep breath. “I told you to call me by my name. Is it an Earth insult that I allowed such an intimate gesture?”

Staring up at him, Shanna grew confused.
“Intimate gesture?”

“I offered you my name instead of my title to call me when very few get that privilege.”

It was starting to sink in. “Shit. Hyvin isn’t your first name, is it? You’re like a general or something so everyone calls you Hyvin for that term.”

“Hyvin is my title.”

“I thought you were making me call you a formal name but Berrr is your first name. Damn. I’m really sorry I got upset about that but I thought you were being rude to me.”

A little guilt ate at her for thinking and accusing him of being a snob to her when in fact he’d been the opposite. She studied his pretty bright eyes.

“You don’t like humans though.” That she was sure of. “What do you have against my kind?”

He sighed, watching her. “Three of my four sons have bound to human women and it sets a bad example for my people. I lead and my warriors wish to follow by my example and that of my sons.” His gaze slowly lowered down her body, taking in every inch, before it lifted back. “Humans are small and not warriors yet my sons are having children with your women. I worry that they will not have strong sons who will be able to hold our bloodline on Zorn as leaders. Our family is the strongest yet my sons have chosen the weakest of females.” His eyelids narrowed as his lips pressed into a firm line of anger. “I admit that I am not pleased to feel attraction to you either yet I do.”

She was taken aback by his confession at being sexually drawn to her. She knew that’s what he meant but she was also getting angry. “I resent you saying I’m weak.” Pushing off the counter, she got to her feet, staring up at him. “You aliens are just freaky large but I’m not a pushover. I was raised in and out of foster care and by two alcoholics in some pretty crappy neighborhoods. I know judo, I took kickboxing and I’ve had to fight plenty of times in my lifetime just to not get my ass kicked because people thought they could take advantage of me because I wasn’t a big woman. Never mistake small for weak, Berrr. I managed to keep your warrior guys from molesting me at that auction while chained to a floor like a damn dog.”

His arms crossed over his chest. “I think I understood most of what you said but you are weak. All women are and need protection from males but human women are even weaker than Zorn females.”

Shanna could almost feel the steam coming from her ears. He was pissing her off big time and seriously thought she was some pathetic bitch who needed someone to fight her battles for her, as though she were useless. Her gaze swept over his large body, his muscles, and then she moved without giving him warning, knowing it was the only advantage she had.
I’ll show him weak.

Berrr stumbled back a good four feet when Shanna’s bare foot made contact with his stomach and a grunt tore from him as he bent from the blow. Shanna spun, kicking out again, and caught him in the shoulder with a roundhouse kick. It knocked the big guy on his ass on the floor by the tub. She backed up, putting her arms tight to her chest, watching him with caution as his head lifted. Shocked blue eyes locked with hers for a few heartbeats before he softly growled at her.

“That’s kickboxing, Berrr. Little ole me is big and bad enough to knock you on your large ass. What was that you were saying about how weak human women were?” She arched her eyebrows and then held her hand out, motioning him up with her fingers. “Are you ready to take it back? If you want I can put you on your ass every time you get up until you’re willing to admit you are wrong.”

He put his hands on the floor, going to his hands and knees, his narrowed gaze locked on her as another soft growl came from his slightly parted full lips. “You want to play?”

“I’m not playing.”

Shock hit his features. “You want to fight me?”

Frowning at him, she shrugged. “If that’s what it takes to convince you that humans aren’t weak, damn it, and just because I have breasts doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself.”

A grin curved his lips as he slowly rose up to six and a half feet of large, muscled male. Shanna admitted feeling a little fear as she realized he could really hurt her if he got his hands on her.
I’ll just have to keep him back and on his ass
, she thought. She’d taken years of lessons to defend herself as a teen in foster care when bigger kids had bullied her and started to beat on her. The volunteers at the community centers had offered to teach her self-defense classes. After she’d left foster care she’d joined a gym to take lessons to continue learning fighting skills. She’d let it go a few years back but it was “like riding a bike” or so she hoped.

“You want to play.”

“I’m teaching you a lesson, not playing.”

Chuckling, he reached down to remove his boots one at a time and tossed them toward the corner, revealing that he didn’t wear socks. Shanna swallowed hard. The big bastard looked amused as her gaze ran over him. She’d never taken on an opponent in the ring that damn big but the saying
“the bigger they are the harder they fall”
went through her mind. She backed up out of the bathroom into the much-larger bedroom, darting quick glances around the area to learn her surroundings, and hoped that more space would help her avoid his hands.

Berrr slowly followed her, his eyelids narrowed as another soft growl came from him. “You should drop to your knees, lower your head and show me submission, Shanna. That is what a Zorn woman would do and you said you wanted to be treated just like them but you aren’t acting like one.”

“I saw those women kneel to you.” She frowned at him, glaring. “I’m not the submissive type so deal with it. I’m also not weak, pathetic, or going to take any of your shit.” She hesitated. “You could drop to your knees though, lower your head and show me submission.”

His head tilted slightly as he studied her with glowing amused eyes. His arms spread wide open as though he wanted to give her a hug a second before he lunged forward in an attempt to grab her. Shanna jumped back—barely missing his hands that swooped toward her—ducked and spun, kicking a leg out to slam heel first into his stomach. She purposely aimed high, not wanting to nail him in the crotch. He’d been nice to her so far and she didn’t play dirty unless she absolutely had to.

Berrr stumbled backward a few feet, not doubling over this time, but he frowned while one hand rubbed the spot she’d hit, all traces of amusement gone from his features. Shanna’s gaze darted around the room to look for escape routes and objects to put between them if he lunged at her again. A soft growl made her full attention snap back to Berrr.

“You can’t win, Shanna.”

“I don’t have to win. I just have to make my point that I’m not pathetic or weak. I’m already a hell of a lot tougher than your women are, Berrr. You won’t see me dropping to my damn hands and knees to stare at a floor just because I said something you didn’t like that made you growl at me. I don’t give a shit if you don’t like what I say.”

He didn’t want to hear that one bit and it showed in his tight-lipped expression and in the grim look in his eyes. He didn’t growl at her this time though. He took a deep breath, sucked in air sharply, making his massive naked chest expand before he lunged for her again. Shanna dove for the bed and barely escaped as she landed on it to roll out of his way.

The bedding that Shanna landed on was yanked hard. It was a big bed, larger than a king size, and her body was being dragged toward the alien who fisted it, hauling her closer, faster than she could roll. He was going to get her and she knew it so she turned to jerk her knees up to her chest to put her in a ball. Right as he released the bedding to grab her, she kicked both feet hard and they slammed into his upper chest.

BOOK: Berrr's Vow
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