Page 28 of You're Not My King!

“Okay.”

I said nothing more. I knew how to pick my battles, and the little voice in my head told me that this five-foot-nothing old lady would take no prisoners. I supposed it was kinda nice that she felt strongly enough about it to correct me so sternly, like my grandma would have. I mean, this whole time I’d believed I wasn’t attractive to aliens, but now I knew, in no uncertain terms, that I’d been wrong. I was actually alien bait.

Strangely, that was doing wonders for my ego.

Deep in thought, I hadn’t noticed Fiona rounding the table. She handed me my medicines with a soft smile before giving my shoulder a friendly tap. “Everything will be alright, lovey,” she assured me, and I found myself trusting her. “But for now, I have work to be getting on with, and as much as I enjoy your company, I need to concentrate.”

“Oh, yeah. Of course.” I stood, holding up the bottle and bag. “Um, thanks for these.”

“Anytime, dearie.”

With that, I left, making my way slowly back to my hut. It was empty, but I wasn’t shocked. Voh-ack usually snuck in when I was asleep, as if he waited until he heard my breathing level out before slipping in behind me.

I set my lotion and tea leaves on the table and scanned the room. It was spotless, so cleaning wasn’t worth the effort. All there was to do was brave the outdoor bathing spring or go to bed. I couldn’t be bothered getting naked and washing my dick in front of a bunch of strangers, so by process of elimination, it was bedtime.

I wasn’t really sold on that choice either though. I was determined to wait up, just to confirm my theory that my ‘husband’ was avoiding me. I wanted to know where we stood. No clue why, I just did.

My actions seemed out of my control, at this point.

I paced for what felt like hours, surprised that I hadn’t worn a hole in the dirt. I was about to give up, realizing how stupid and woefully desperate this was—we couldn’t even understand each other, how did I expect to get answers?—but as I turned toward our nest of furs, Voh-ack strolled in, his large body making the hut feel tiny.

He froze just as I did, looking a little stunned to see me still awake, but not unhappy. He tilted his head curiously, and in that smoky, hot-as-hell voice, said, “Cah-ka-rook-uh?”

There was that name again. At least, I assumed it was a name since he’d called me it while we’d fucked. Not that it would have mattered even if it was a curse. I didn’t know what it meant.

I sent him a half-smile in apology. “I don’t understand.”

His fierce eyes pinned me to the spot, and instead of gazing away like I normally would, I held his stare. It felt as if I had no choice, as if the universe had put him in my path just to get my attention. My heart kicked and his mouth curved into the faintest hint of his usual fucking smirk. He was taunting me, showing me that he knew I wanted him but was resisting, waiting for me to make the first move.

Cocky bastard.

And why did I like it so much? How he could flip so effortlessly between the guy who’d soothed me out of a panic attack and the arrogant king who now stood before me, oozing all that delicious maleness was probably just one of the many talents he possessed—and would brag about, too.

I mean, with a cock the size of his, I couldn’t blame him for being a little smug.

He’d earned that right.

Sweat beaded at the base of my neck, and I felt a flood of warmth hit my cheeks. Why was it suddenly so hot in here? There was a tug in my stomach, a coil unraveling as if drawing me forward, beckoning me to give myself to him. To my mortification, my cock stirred, and I rocked on the balls of my feet, ready to vault across the room and climb my alien like a very tall, very sexy tree.

What the fuck was happening to me?

Voh-ack stepped forward as if to catch me, but I shook my head, breaking the fog. He jerked, blinking rapidly, fingers tightening into fists at his sides as if willing back control. He made a questioning sound in his throat, and I had no energy left to figure out what the hell all that was, so I huffed, frustrated, and flung myself into bed, face buried in the pelts.

Everything would have been so much simpler if that dick on A&R had just given me a translator. I would have sent him a strongly worded complaint, if the chance of me being old or dead by the time it even arrived hadn’t been so high.

There was a rustle of movement behind me, but I didn’t bother looking. The bed dipped, a warm, solid chest sliding flush against my back before a blanket was tugged over my shoulder. There was a soft vibration, a soothing rumbling coming from Voh-ack as he combed my hair with his fingers, scratching lightly at my scalp. It was heaven, and I hated how fast I melted into it.

Was I really so touch starved that even my captor’s petting had me purring like a kitten?

I was asleep before I could answer myself.

I’d woken up to an empty space beside me, but hadn’t expected otherwise, and after a mini pity party for one, I decided not to waste another thought on it. I had hooks to forage, and having those meant I’d be too busy for wallowing—not that I was wallowing, but still.

Busy, busy.

As soon as I stepped outside, I wanted to bury myself back under my nest, but I pushed through, inhaling a deep lungful of fresh alien air, and instantly clocking the peeping Tom in the distance. I snorted.

Voh-ack had assigned a guard to me. Or, at least, had asked Knee-tar to keep an eye on my every move, but to distance himself so that it wasn’t suspicious. It was. Very. The dude was the least subtle out of all the aliens he could have picked, and I felt his eyes on me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. He didn’t hover over me, but I sensed that he wanted to, and it made the whole idea of fleeing seem even more impossible. Trickier.

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