Their camp was empty within minutes. Kira sat on the ground with her cave-woman style dress that was tied on one shoulder, a pout on her lips, and a bracelet of red skin.

Whenever she tried to lift a finger, she got a slap on the wrist. The men refused to let her help, afraid that she would break. She tried to argue, but they were having none of it.

Hopefully, with time, they would come to realize that she wasn't as useless as she looked.

"Let us go," Vrox said. His extended hand was offering attention to her, but his face remained loyal to the sky. Grey clouds had colored Ni'ev's apprehension true. The storm looked just about ready to roar at them.

She picked up her purse and the lightweight cover Rokan had made. Once she grabbed Vrox's hand, the mixing of their warmth distracted him from the cool sky. He squinted at her as if she was another storm he couldn't figure out.

"Vrox, move. You can continue to eat the female after we get home."

Kyros' comment cracked a frown on Rokan's face.

"Eat her? What do you mean?"

Kyros flashed a playful smile. "I will tell you later."

With a disapproving shake of his head, Vrox opened his arms for her. "Come."

She tried to go around his body, intending on climbing on his back as she always did. Instead of giving her a piggyback ride, Vrox swept her up bridal style.

She blinked, taken off guard. "Don't you need your hands to be free?"

He crooked his head. "I want you close to my tremble. I can afford to keep my hands busy. We will be safe with the others."

His tremble?

As she wondered what he meant, she rested her head on his chest and tried to crack the code. It took her a few seconds to realize that the code was trying to crack itself out of Vrox's chest. His heart was seizing– going crazy for her.

She smiled, tipping her head aside to kiss his scaled bicep to thank him for sharing his 'tremble' with her.

"I would prefer if you deposited your mouth-mating on my face," he told her, not caring about adjusting his volume to hide his words from his brothers.

Kyros and Rokan turned back to face them, and she tossed her cloak over her head to hide.

A rumble rang through Vrox's chest, and it had nothing to do with his 'tremble.' The mischievous male was laughing at her.

They took off. Ni'ev was in the lead, carrying a leather sack full of weapons. Rokan and Kyros followed, holding their own sacks. They had left the containers of water behind, assuring that they had plenty of water in their home. Vrox tailed them, carrying nothing but her. She enjoyed being in his embrace, but couldn't wait to start using her own feet again.

When it was starting to get too hot under the cloak, she removed it from her head.

"Put it back on. The rain will start soon," Vrox warned.

"What about you?"

He gave her a smile. "I do not get ill from weather."

"Try jumping into lava and see if your sexy, young skin will remain healthy."

"Lava is not weather, female."

She spurted, knowing that he was right but having no intelligent retaliation. "I'm supposed to be the NASA engineer here. If you keep trying to steal my role, there will be no more mouth-mating for you."

Vrox's jaw snapped into place.

She laughed and kissed his chin before pulling the cloak over her head. It only took seconds for water to begin its invasion. It was so mighty that she could swear she was under a waterfall. She took a second to thank her decision to buy a waterproof purse. Otherwise, her translator and Nebula's locket could have been damaged.

The cloak wasn't doing a great job at keeping her dry, but she was sure that Vrox's arms were the safest spot in the universe for her. It was a shame that she couldn't protect him to the same degree.

"Are you alright, Vrox?"

She could practically hear the frown on his face when he replied, "Why wouldn't I be? I have sustained no injuries, and my stamina is at its highest. I am fully capable of caring for you."

Something told her Vrox didn't have much experience being looked after.

"I know you're strong, but it's normal to feel uncomfortable. If your arms get tired–"

"Then I will domesticate a squar and have it fly us to our camp. I will not let my brothers carry you."

The male was more possessive of her than the storm was of Ezron.

She sighed, knowing that she was more likely to find a portal to Earth than win this argument.

"Alright."

A grumble of satisfaction rang through him, adding to the party inside his chest.

They walked for miles. Kira was alert during every second, waiting for an unfamiliar man to demand to know what Vrox was carrying. That was her worst nightmare. She didn't want the men to face conflict over her.

She tried to keep up with the hushed conversations of Rokan and Kyros. They seemed to be having a blast with their occasional chuckle. Her nerves pulled her attention away every few seconds.

A cry of relief nearly pieced out of her when Vrox stopped walking and softly set her on her feet. Excitedly, she ripped her drenched cloak from her head.

She eyed the men's camp, awed.

It was massive, bordered by logs that were strategically cut and stacked beside each other. The area looked about as sparse as NASA's parking lot– and that was saying something.

To the left was a field of crops. In the middle was an area that seemed to be used for bonfires. The right side was the side of a mountain– full of crevices that she was sure were caves. Long sheets of animal hide covered the entrances.

This looked like a 5-star Ezron resort.

She wondered how it was possible for six men to build this. The wall that bordered the territory was over twenty feet high, and the logs were thick. How did they cut them down and carry them to camp?

"We must get inside."

She looked at Vrox, and the reminder of his size answered all her questions. He could probably lift the mountain if the urge struck him.

He took her hand and pulled her to the second cave. "Wait here. I need to check if any animals entered the dwelling."

He flapped the hide aside and disappeared for a minute.

"It is clear," he called out.

She entered and took in the space. As Vrox had promised, his room was grand. The floor seemed to have been smoothed out somehow, so it wasn't rocky. There was a planet-sized bed in the center, covered with the furs meant for a king. A fireplace and a metal container full of water were on the left, and the right wall was decorated with an arsenal of weapons.

She squinted at the shiny swords, wondering if they were safely attached. The last thing she needed was for one of them to free-fall on her head as she slept.

"Wow."

Vrox had just gotten upgraded from alien to viking alien.

"I do not know this word," Vrox replied as he reached to pull his dripping loincloth from his hips.

She turned around instantly and heard his raspy chuckle bounce off the walls.

"Come here, you must dry."

"Are you covered?"

"Yes."

She turned and found him naked as the day they met.

"Vrox!"

He laughed again and spanned his arms around her. 

"Welcome home, small Terran."