Snippet from The Vori’s Secret

Uttering a hoarse shout, Eyuul plummeted, a thin barrier of
branches breaking around him, dropping into a deep crevice. His tail and torso
struck the walls painfully on his way down, but he was thankful that the drop
itself wasn’t as deep as it could have been. Groaning, he laid there for
several minutes, taking inventory of his injuries as he blinked up at the
sunlight filtering through the trees.

            “Kashesh,”
he muttered foully as he pushed his torso up from the ground, allowing the coil
of his tail to support his weight. His crown coils whipping around his head,
their lengths stretched out in an inspecting fashion, Eyuul surveyed the hole.
A single frond dropped down to his head before slipping off to join the number
of other of plantlife that had fallen inside with him. Someone had covered the
fissure. Did the female set a trap for him? Fury and pride warred within him. He
wanted to shake sense into her, and he wanted to shout out her praise.

            If she had
set a trap, she was certain to be nearby, waiting.

            He turned
his head slowly, looking along the rim of the crevice for any sign of her.

            “I know you
are there,” he called out, allowing just enough irritation to creep into his
voice that she would have no illusions of the reprimand. Very slowly a shine of
dark red curls peeked over the edge of the fissure before showing a familiar
feminine face only a few shades lighter than the deep hue of a Vori. A flash of
teeth in human amusement quickly deteriorated much of his good feelings on the
situation and he glared up at her.

***

            Watching
the giant male fall into her trap had been a thrill like no other. Sure, Jenn
felt a pinch of guilt, especially when hearing just how hard he fell, but his
muttered curse from the bottom reassured her that he survived well enough. The irritate
tone of his voice as he called out to her had, in turn, amused her. She slid
over to the edge and glanced down as her prey, a wide smile blooming on her
face. It had been a long time since she felt any measure of control over her
situation and it felt good!

            He didn’t
seem to have quite the same appreciation for it, however, judging by the way he
glared up at her. He certainly seemed intent on intimidating her to some
degree, and he was big enough to carry it off if it weren’t for the fact that
she was the one with the upper hand at that moment. She draped her folded arms
over one knee and grinned down at him.

            “Fancy
meeting again, snake-man,” she called out.

            His brown
puckered into a fierce scowl. “I am not ‘snake-man’, I am Vori. Eyuul is my
name and by which you may address me.”

            “Okay, sure,”
she agreed easily with a small laugh.

            “What is
your name?”

            It was far
more a demand than a request, and for some reason it just tickled her fancy. He
was totally at her mercy and still gave pretense that he had some measure of
control without any fit of temper. She almost had to admire that….safely, from
a distance. She took her time answering, debating whether or not to give him a
truthful answer. She could almost see the muscle jumping in his jaw, but he did
not loose any blistering string of profanities in his impatience as her “mate”
had. That was ultimately what decided on giving him that one small curtesy.

            “I’m Jenn,”
she called back.

            “Jenn,” he
spoke slowly as if savoring the taste of her name on his tongue. “It is good to
finally know you. Now throw down that vine on that tree to her your left so
that I may quickly pull myself out and join you.”

            She shook
her head and laughed. “Uh, no. That’s a negatory slither-boy. Sorry. I am sure
you can eventually get yourself out of there, but I won’t be sticking around. Do
yourself a favor–give up and go home.”

            His eyes almost
seem to take on a fiery cast as he glared up at her.

            “Jenn, don’t
you dare,” he hissed out vehemently.

            She waved
cheerfully and stood up from the edge, brushing the dirt from her dress. With
only a brief glance at his fierce face, she turned and strode quickly away
before she could change her mind. If there was one thing experience had taught
her, it was that alien males could not be trusted.

            An angry
shout dogged her from one very pissed off Vori.

            “Jenn!”





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