Catching Alicka by Dakota Dawn Page B

a breath, he ran his thumb over her lower lip. “You are amazing, sweetling. I’m falling hard for you already.”
    “I feel the same way about you, giant lover.” Love for her sweet giant was filling her heart more and more with each minute that passed.
    A chuckle came from him. “I guess to you, I am a giant.”
    “Yes, you are. I’m beginning to think of you as my sweet giant.” She yelped when he growled and rolled her beneath him. “Let’s see if I can make you think of me as something other than sweet.”
    When he latched onto her pierced ear and growled, she knew she was going to enjoy him showing her how bad he could be.

Chapter Six
     
    It was time to learn about Slanon’s business.
    They’d spent the last three days in blissful seclusion. Now it was time to get back to the everyday grind. A grind Alicka was eager to learn.
    Since they weren’t far from his picplom grove, they walked down the stone path that led to the pretty blue trees. Misto, his employee, wouldn’t be there today because the man was on the other side of the planet learning more about a new tree that had been brought here last year.
    On the way, he slowed and sniffed the air, “Come here, I want you to see something,”
    Following closely on his heels, she wondered what he was going to show her. Would it be something cute and sweet like a new fruit or pretty flowers that had medicinal purposes?
    They stopped beside a tan-trunked tree with dark-brown leaves. Slanon pointed at a black, shiny substance on the tree’s trunk.
    With serious eyes, he stared down at her. “This is called targor. It is highly acidic and will blister your skin in seconds if you touch it. The only trees it grows on are these licos trees and tenplot trees. They are dark-green-trunked trees with yellow-and-green leaves. I’ll point one out to you as we head to our picplom trees.”
    She looked closely at the black stuff on the tree. “Is there a way to safely remove it from the tree?”
    “No. It just comes back. Some companies scrape it off and add it to other ingredients that make up a chemical to clean spacecrafts that land here and want space matter removed from their crafts.”
    “Oh, at least it has a good reason to be here. How do VisOrrentians heal from it? I can’t see you licking acid off your wound.”
    “That’s true. The acid would burn our tongues. They would heal, but it would take time, so what we do is spit on the acid and rub it in with a cloth or leaves if necessary. Mostly we avoid it. It has a distinct scent that you’ll be able to pick up after you are changed by our baby.” Slanon took her hand and led her back to the path. A few feet down it, he sniffed the air and pointed at a green-and-yellow tree in the distance. “That’s a tenplot tree and it has some targor on it.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Always be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to your delicate skin.”
    A shiver slithered up her spine at the thought of the black acid getting on her. “I’ll be watchful.” While hunting with her father, she’d been taught to be mindful of her environment.
    Slanon tilted his head in approval and then led them on down the stone path. Alicka looked at the large, tan stones and noted how the blue-green grass looked pretty next to them. The grass looked freshly mowed, as always. “Who put in the stone path, and who cuts the grass?” So far, she hadn’t seen anyone do the latter.
    “The grass only gets six inches tall, so no one ever has to cut it.” He pointed at the path. “The walkway has been in progress for thousands of years. Every male has to help build a part of our world. I helped with this path about fifty years ago. My brothers and the princes helped with it as well.”
    Fifty years ago? “How old are you?”
    “One hundred and five. I’m the youngest of my siblings.” Slanon stopped and looked closely at her. “Did you read about the changes that will take place in your body