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still
cradling her in his arms, but freeing one hand to reach up and gently cup her
face. He lowered his head so they were a breath from being mouth to mouth,
their eyes so close she could see the silver specks with amazing clarity even
in the blue light from the ground. “Nothing will harm you again or I will harm
it much worse.”
    “Your voice. I can hear it.”
    He took a deep breath, making her realize she was pressed
against his naked, broad chest. It was an intimate position with his arms
around her, her ass on his lap.
    “We have the technology to translate our language.”
    “That’s…” She struggled to find words. “Cool. Really
advanced.”
    His body tensed. “We come from very far away where things
are different than they are here.”
    She nodded. “I can totally believe that.”
    “I told you she would be fine.” Gar sounded irritated. “You
threatened me without cause.”
    Lynn turned her head to stare at the redheaded alien. He
spun around and she noticed the backpack he wore as he stalked to the center of
the small clearing. He removed it and threw it down. They began to set up camp.
Coto gently lifted her off his lap but placed her next to him on the fallen
tree. She didn’t move, too afraid one of the other men might decide to ignore
what Coto had ordered. He was the only one who seemed to want to keep her
alive.
    They had all kinds of stuff she’d never seen before as one
of them dropped a backpack-like bag onto the ground and bent to press his
finger into a hole on the side of it. In seconds a hiss sounded and the entire
thing started to inflate. She watched in astonished fascination while it
continued to increase in size, taking the shape of a large dome. By the time it
stopped it was at least twelve feet high in the center and a good twenty feet
in diameter. It looked more like a dark igloo created from a strange fabric
than it did any tent she’d ever seen.
    Gar opened his pack and handed out dark-brown packets. He
gave two of them to Coto, who hesitated before placing one on his thigh and
gripping the other with both hands.
    “Are you hungry, Lynn?”
    “You remembered my name.”
    He nodded. “I was able to fully understand you. I already
have an implant that translates your language.”
    “It didn’t hurt you?”
    “No. I am used to pain.”
    She let that one go, deciding to return to his original
question. “I’m starving. I haven’t eaten anything since lunch.” She glanced at
what he held in his hands. “Is that food?”
    “Yes.” He tore the side seam of the bag and flattened his
hands under it.
    Lynn nearly fell off the log when the bag practically
exploded, going from near flat to becoming balloon shaped. Coto’s quick
reflexes stopped her fall. His hand shot out to grip her thigh, pushing down to
pin her where she sat.
    Amusement made his eyes sparkle when he smiled at her. “I’m
sorry for finding that humorous but you are afraid of food? You bite it, it
will not bite you.”
    “The thing just blew up like a pufferfish. I didn’t expect that.”
    He chuckled again, released her thigh, and turned the bag to
show her the open side. “Oxygen activated.”
    “That’s…” The smell of something wonderful teased her nose.
She sniffed and reached for it. “That smells really good.”
    “You eat meat?” He stared into her eyes.
    “Yes.”
    He passed it over to her and she was flabbergasted at the
warmth coming from the bag. He chuckled at her gasp.
    “It heats the food and expands it when oxygen is introduced
after the seal is broken. We do not have to cook our meals and they are easier
to carry compressed while…we vacation.”
    She accepted the warm bag, peeking inside it to see what
looked like meat strips, and then looked back at him. “That’s amazing.”
    He shrugged and turned a little away from her, looking down
to open his own food. This time she expected it as the bag rapidly expanded. He
reached inside with his finger and thumb, pulled out a