Even if I had heard half of what he had just said, I could not speak.
Truly, he really needed to quit smiling like that.
His eyes were not even freaking me out. That was how much pleasure looked good on him.
His shoulders slowly stiffened, and his silver gaze met mine.
Malik did not speak as his head cocked, watching me.
The brutal grip on my arm lessened, and his warm fingers were barely felt on my flesh, like a whispering touch. An unusual shiver ran down my spine and gooseflesh popped up on my arms.
One of his black brows lifted as his gaze twisted in a humored nature, but his lips, they curved into a smirk I did not understand. His tone was deep, affectionate. “Human?”
I gazed at his wide lips, trying to understand why they intrigued me. “Yeah?”
With only the moon to light the area, he bent in slow increments, steadily bring his face closer. In a gentle motion, he tilted his head so our foreheads rested against one another’s.
I could barely breathe. It was like the oxygen on this wacked planet was rapidly disappearing.
The private grin he wore grew as he brushed his nose against mine. Slanting his face even closer, his wide lips hovered so his breath heated my lips with each of his steady exhales.
The intimate sensation of sharing each other’s oxygen made my toes curl into the cool grass.
With eyes only for his, I trembled, unsure of the warmth growing in my lower abdomen.
Malik whispered, “You have more tomato sauce on your face.” Abruptly, he straightened, and I had to lock my legs to keep from stumbling. “Be careful or the Mian will think you’re a treat.”
My lips parted in humiliation, and I quickly removed my elbow from his lingering hold and started scrubbing at my face. Breathing was much easier when his face was not so close to mine. I felt sauce on my nose and quickly wiped it away, and asked swiftly, “Did I get it all?”
He hummed quietly, his lips twitching as he eyed me. He stuck the tip of his left thumb between his lips. I tried really hard not to analyze the motion. Then he used his slightly damp digit to clean a spot near my right temple. “Now you’re good.”
I quickly wiped any remaining moisture away from my flesh. “Thanks.”
He smiled again. The smile that unnerved me. His glowing gaze squinted in amusement as he watched me. “You’re welcome.” He chuckled to whatever was running amok inside his thoughts, and tilted his head to the left. “Come. You can try to play Hujlum with the rest of the frightening Mian.”
The taunting brought me back to reality. I huffed in indignation. “I’m not frightened.” Yes, I was.
“There’ll be no arguing then.” Malik headed toward a horde of Mian tackling each other.
I swallowed heavily and quickly caught up to him, staying close to his side. I evaluated the ‘game’ as we trekked across the back courtyard. Other than people bleeding on the ground and shouting in fury, I had no clue what they were doing. “Will I be on your and Leo’s team?”
Please say yes.
“I think we could arrange that.” Malik bent, and whispered, “Sure you’re not afraid?”
“Of course I’m not.” Hell yes, I was.
“Good.” His gaze turned serious, almost making my steps falter. “Never show fear to a Mian.”
I nodded once, not commenting.
He stopped next to Leo on the sidelines of the ‘game’.
Leo’s chest was heaving in exertion as he drank from a plastic cup, but his golden gaze was straight on us. His perfectly shaped brows lifted, and he asked casually, “Game on?”
Malik hummed, and his lips curved into a forbidding grin. “I do love a challenge.”
Leo downed the rest of his drink, and then chuckled. “Oh, God, this will be interesting.” He laughed for a full minute, holding his stomach as he did so. My brows puckered as I noticed he had one dimple on his left cheek, making him appear more like an angel with his golden coloring. His sparkling gaze met mine as he gradually calmed himself. While our gazes held, he rubbed the ring on his thumb against his lower lip. He asked in a quiet tone, “Ready to play?”
I inhaled sharply, pulling my gaze away. I peered out to the field. “I’m a quick learner.” But from the blood on the grass, I truly hoped they had a healer on hand. There were close to forty Mian men out there, ranging in heights from extremely tall to how-the-hell-did-women-birth-these-men tall.
Malik watched as I evaluated the Mian. “We’ll see.”
Leo laughed again, and clapped his free hand on Malik’s shoulder. “Yes, we will.” He chucked his cup into a drift-trashcan, and started running backward onto the field while watching us. “Let’s go! Move your lazy asses.” He winked at Malik. “The game was already held up waiting on you.”
Oh, that wasn’t the actual game being played! Thank Mother Joyal…or whatever.
The game, Hujlum, was just another name for: Kick the shit out of the weakest player.
And I was the weakest player.
I was also long past decorum. I had stopped trying to speak in Mianese when I had apparently continued to call everyone a ‘cow’ when I cursed them. Though, on the plus side of my language barrier, the Mian men had started snickering and making moo sounds, so I was hopeful what I had eaten earlier was indeed cloned cow.
I jabbed a sharp finger at the Mian bully in front of me, and continued cursing, “You are a sadistic bag of shit! Why the hell do you keep giving me the damn ball?” One other fact I had learned was all of these men understood English no matter how fast I was talking, which meant they were of a higher education. All the government officials in Belvar out for playtime. “Seriously! I am going to lose this damn game for us!”
He snickered and brushed his silver hair aside, also speaking in his own native tongue. Though, he did speak much slower, as if I were a halfwit. “If you would quit running into the men you’re supposed to avoid, then you would have made it to the target, at least, five times. We have been tackling almost everyone in your path.”
It felt like my head might explode. I threw my hands up into the air and shook them. “I can’t see them!” The bastards had realized I could only detect them by their glowing eyes, so they had closed them and used their fine hearing and scent to track me. “You don’t have any damn lights out here. There’s only a sliver of a moon to see by!” More shaking of my hands, but this time right in front of the annoyingly patient man’s face. “I am Human!”