Page 37 of You're Not My King!

A pleased rumble vibrated in Vo’ak’s chest, and he lifted my chin again, seemingly intrigued by my reaction, before gently picking up the stone figurine from my palm. “Cah-ka-rook-uh.”

I hummed. “Yeah?”

He shook his head, and deliberately tapped the bug.“Cah-ka-rook-uh.”

My brow furrowed, and I stared down at the beautifully carved black rock, waiting for it to do tricks or something. The little creature stayed immobile in his hand, with its fragile crawly legs and fuzzy, rounded butt with… a small rose engraved on it, now that I squinted closer.

Wait a damn minute.

Fashionably late, it clicked, understanding finally dawning on me.

Had he meant?—

“You…” I reeled back as if slapped, embarrassed that it had taken me so long to catch his drift. “Your pet name for me is cockroach? Are you kidding me?” I screeched, shoving once at his solid, unmovable, dumb chest. “You asshole. I came to say thank you and be all nicey-nice, but you’ve been over here, swinging your dick and mocking me this whole time?!” I jabbed a finger into his pec. “Fuck you, and fuck your smug, perfect face. I’m out.”

Vo’ak floundered, grabbing my arm as I whirled around to leave. He looked a healthy mix of puzzled and gobsmacked, clearly having no idea what he’d done wrong, but I couldn’t feel sorry for him. Not yet. “Roo-bin, hurt?”

“No, I’m not hurt,” I seethed, crossing my arms to avoid his touch and deciding on the spot that I was never leaving my nest again unless it was to run the hell away from here. Being outside sucked. “I can’t believe I—Ugh. I’m such an idiot.”

A fucking cockroach. Was he serious? Was he saying I was a pest? I couldn’t help but scoff. I wasn’t the pest in this relationship. If anything, he was. Dragging me to his den like a damned caveman, keeping me hostage on this planet, in this camp. If I was such a pest, why didn’t he just let me go home? Cockroach. Pft, how dare he? He didn’t think I was such a pest when he was drilling my?—

“Cah-ka-rook-uh is small,” he tried, interrupting my inner bitchfest, chewing over his next words before making a wavy hand gesture. “Squirms.”

I was six feet tall, and I didn’t squirm. Not that much. Only when I was in his lap and he…

I pouted.

“Strong,” he tacked on, voice more reverent than I’d ever heard it. He rubbed his fingers gently between my brows, smoothing out my frown, and I obviously wasn’t too mad, because I let him. “My Roo-bin, strong.”

Oh.

He really thought that?

I shook my head. It didn’t matter, I was sulking.

Raising my chin, I sniffed, not meeting his gaze. Vo’ak exhaled a small laugh at my struggle to resist his compliment and added, “Loud.”

“Huh?”

He nodded at the bug again. “Make noise. Loud.”

I frowned.

I knew cockroaches on Earth could hiss and chirp, but it wasn’t exactly loud. Of course they’d be different here—everything was different here—but despite my mood, I was still kinda curious to hear it.

Vo’ak pointed at me and smirked. “Loud, when you are full of my cock.”

My cheeks heated.

Okay, fine. I supposed I understood why he called me that. It was lecherous, but kinda adorable. Still, a cockroach?

Couldn’t I be a butterfly or something less bug-like?

“Roo-bin…” He teased, lowering his voice to that sexy rumble to catch my attention.

I glared at him. “What?”

“Roo-bin…” He tried again, sneaking closer.

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