23.

Madeleine shrieked as the scenery blurred around her into a palette of reddish and pink hues, the air from her lungs roughly stolen as Emerick's bulky arm pressed so tightly around her waist.

Her fingers dug into the back of his neck as she struggled to hold onto him, barely feeling his steps as he darted through the trees so insanely fast, scaring her to no end as she couldn't understand what was going on and why.

One moment he was so close to actually kissing her and the next he'd hoisted her up in his embrace and started running like a crazed cheetah out of nowhere.



Her cheeks warmed up as she allowed herself to waste but a single moment thinking about what he almost did, wondering why she almost let him do it too.

Was she starting to actually...like him?

No.

She immediately dismissed that thought, forcing herself to remember exactly what he was and her initial plan. She couldn't allow herself to start caring for him now because she knew it very well that if she did, she would never be able to return to Earth again.

Not without him, that is.

She suddenly found herself snapping back to reality as she felt him slowing down until he eventually stopped altogether, his gloved hands taking ahold of her hips as he proceeded to help her descend.

Involuntarily, her body immediately reacted to his touch, feeling her pulse increase and her skin grow just a little bit hotter, casually sensing that discreet and natural scent that seemed to cling against his skin no matter what. He kinda smelt like coconuts and other sweet stuff she couldn't exactly put her finger on.

"We were being followed," He briefly informed her as soon as her bare feet touched the ground, her gaze raising to meet his whilst her hands slid against the sides of his neck into a rather hesitant manner.

As crazy as it seemed, a small part of her didn't want to let go of his incredibly warm body.

"Was..." She thickly swallowed,

"Was it him?"

He lightly shook his head,

"Probably just a lost civilian,"

She quickly nodded, her mind however still enraptured by his scent, his hands still resting either side of her hips and the warmth of his body generated by their closeness.

"How do you still smell so nice? You haven't showered in days," She suddenly asked with a tilt of her head as her nostrils kept inhaling his oddly alluring scent.

"That may be because I have never ingested anything containing toxic chemicals like earthian food and/or beverages," He fastly explained whilst his purplish eyes kept wandering all over her features in a rather scrutinising way.

The girl comically scrunched up her nose after hearing his words, captivating his attention as this was the first time he was actually witnessing such an expression painting her delicate face.

"Well, junk food and all, I know I already smell like shit. I honestly don't know how can you still bear to be around me," She truthfully commented with a grimace, quickly earning herself what sounded like a light chuckle.

The girl abruptly sobered up and stared up at him with what could only be described as pure shock as she most certainly wasn't expecting to ever hear such a sound coming from him. And judging by the utterly stunned look currently marring his face as well, she could bet that neither did he.

"Emerick?" She tentatively uttered his name in hopes of getting him to snap out of his current trance-like state, his galaxy eyes swiftly refocusing on her face.

"Are you okay?"

"How are you doing this?"

Her brows shot up as soon as that peculiar question flew past his lips, leaving her even more perplexed.

"Doing what?"

"You're altering my bodily functions," He answered, the girl only blinking for a few times in response.

"I'm...What?"

"It's like my mind is still mine but my body..." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts as she stared up at him, giving him her complete and undivided attention.

"I feel like I want something from you. I don't know exactly what it is but I crave it so much,"

"I realize that I feel sexual attraction towards you, but there's something else as well...Something much more," He struggled to explain himself as best as he could, given the fact that it was all so peculiar and new to him, the girl's cheeks fastly heating up at the mere hearing of his rather bold words.

What was going on?

"I believe your blood must be the cause," She suddenly heard him say, her sky blue eyes widening with sheer dumbfoundedness.

"M-my...blood?"

"That small sample I've taken from you. It may have altered my system," He concurred, making her feel a slight tinge of panic settle inside of her.

Altered? What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean that he was going to malfunction or whatever and go crazy?

"Is that bad? I-I'm sorry I-I-" She incoherently started to mumble as she unconsciously took a step back, the action not going unnoticed by the male either.

"Why are you apologizing? You were evidently unaware of this possible outcome," He countered with a milder tone, relatively satisfied to hear that small decrease in her heart-rate.

At least she didn't react as badly as he thought she would, after his impromptu confession.

Truth to be told, even he couldn't explain where it was coming from and how. All he knew was that something inside of him was definitely changing. Something was altering his DNA, making him feel all these feelings and sensations he'd never felt before. And he didn't even know if it was for the worse or for the better.

"So...What's gonna happen now?" He heard her meekly say after a few moments of silence, noticing the way her body still remained tensed.

"Unfortunately I don't have a pertinent answer for that,"

"But whatever it may happen, you can rest assured that I will never hurt you," He said as he took a slow and careful step towards her, gauging her reaction whilst his gloved hand tentatively reached to touch her arm.

She only gave a small nod, peering up into his galaxy eyes.

After all, she did decide to at least try and trust him.

"I can smell a stream close enough, do you wish to bathe?" He asked after a moment, the girl's earthian blue eyes quickly widening whilst her lips parted.

"You can-wait a minute! So you do admit that I stink!" She mock-glowered at him as she pointed a finger at his bare chest.

Again that peculiar sound escaped him into the form of small laughter -as he'd previously remembered that that was how they called it back on Earth- this time relaxing his stance as he couldn't help but notice that it actually felt...good.

"Well, come on then, lead the way," She urged when she noticed that he wasn't moving a single muscle, even going as far as walking behind his back and starting to push against it -well, more like trying to- whilst grumbling under her breath,

"Now I understand why they call you guys BloodHounds. You can freaking smell everything, even the damned water,"

He blew out a small puff of air through his nostrils and started walking, however careful not to make her stumble forward as he took the first step ever so slowly, waiting for her to step by his side and walk at the same pace.

They soon found the stream hidden behind few scattered trees, the girl's eyes widening and her lips parting in awe at the beautiful sight.

There was a stream of turquoise-blue water steadily falling over a taller conglomeration of greyish-white rocks, creating a waterfall before it landed into a small ravine, continuing its course into a smaller river that undulated between the trees.

She continued to gape whilst Emerick moved closer towards the edge where the land stopped and the water began, inadvertently drawing her attention as well, just in time to watch him starting to unbuckle his belt.

"Wait what are you doing?!?" She immediately shrieked, her pulse quickening as her hands shot forward into an attempt to cover his lower part from her sight.

He abruptly paused, weirdly staring at her.

"We can't have our only clothes wet. It will take long for them to dry, moreover we still have another cold night to get through out here in the open," He simply explained the reason behind his actions as if just stating the obvious, quickly earning himself a rapid nod from her.

"Yeah, o-okay then,"

"I'll turn around so you can get into the water, but then you'll have to do the same for me, do you understand?" She instructed, earning a nod from him as well. So she quickly turned her back and patiently waited while listening to the small sounds of his pants, boots and whatever falling over the grass closeby before the sloshing sounds of disturbed water followed, indicating that he had dove into the ravine.

"I'm done," She heard him shout just as she turned around, watching him float into the water just a few meters away as he gazed back at her.

"No peeking, you hear me?" She warned, watching him quickly turn his back to her, so she hurried to rid herself of every single clothing article she had on her body before she jumped into the water as well, surprised to notice it wasn't so cold as she'd expected it to be.

Huh...

She swam a little bit closer yet careful enough to leave a certain distance between them, giving his broad and naked back a single glance before she turned hers as well, allowing herself to enjoy the feeling of the lukewarm water cleansing her sweaty skin and the small rumbling sound of the waterfall in the background.

She let herself calmly drift for a while before she completely submerged under the turquoise water, her eyes slowly opening to gaze into the beautifully-colored liquid for a moment before she pushed upwards and broke through the surface, wringing out the excessive water in her hair.

Hearing the water slosh a little from behind, she immediately remembered that her travel companion was right there, close to her and equally naked, the thought of his bare body so close to hers creating such a strong and odd feeling within her, reminiscing what he'd almost done today.

"Emerick?" She timidly called out, quickly hearing his humm in response.

"You almost kissed me today,"

"Why?" She turned around to face him as she quietly asked that last question, noticing the visibly confused look on the BloodHound's face.

"I...what?"

"Kissed? What is kissed?" His brows furrowed, making her come to the realization that he genuinely didn't know what a kiss was.

"It's not "kissed", it's a kiss, like when you kiss someone," She tried her best to explain, gaining his interest as he did not miss that sudden increase in her heart-rate and the way her cheeks turned a little bit redder, just like they always did when something made her uncomfortable, but in a good way.

"And how do you do that?" He further pressed, entertaining himself with this specific reaction from her as for some reason, it made him feel a some kind of rush as well.

"Y-you touch someone else's lips with yours," She stuttered in her struggle to hold herself together as she started to feel yet again that inexplicable pull to him, her body growing hotter and hotter as her gaze involuntarily trailed over those sculptured muscles glistening with wetness, practically begging to be touched.

"Really?" He pressed yet again as he slowly waded closer, almost like a predator as he stopped right in front of her, boldly invading her personal space.

"Wai-!?!" The word abruptly died on her lips as his bare hand wrapped around her arm in a gentle way, a thousand shivers crawling up her spine as that delicious scent enveloped her, feeling his burning body warmth so close to hers.

He only gazed into her eyes for a moment as if searching for something before he slowly leaned closer and touched her lips with his once in the most delicate way.

"Like this?" He quietly asked as he peered into her beautiful earthian eyes and wondered whether his gesture may have been a little bit too brave, searching for any signs of fear coming from her when she suddenly whispered back,

"Kind of..."

His brows furrowed, entirely failing to understand that answer. However, before he could dwell any further on it she slowly wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, coaxing him to lean closer and she pressed her lips against his, moving into a slow and wet kiss, nibbling at his lower lip for a few seconds before she stopped altogether and pulled back.