Page 17 of Oh No, I Stole An Alien Furball And Kissed A Beastmaster

“Zoe?” Taruk’s large hands run up my arms, no doubt searching for wounds. When he doesn’t find any there, he proceeds to stroke my legs. I shove his hands away, try to push him away, but he just captures me against my will. He scoops me up in his arms, holding me close. He sits on the step and rocks me, speaking soft words as my tears fall and I ugly cry.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t cry,” he says quietly, his chin resting gently on the top of my head.

“It’s all my fault! I’ve ruined everything!” I hiccup, as fresh self-pity overwhelms me. “If I’d just given you Tumeric in the first place, none of this would have happened. I’ve destroyed the hotel, and it’s going to close down, and we are all going to become homeless and have nothing to eat and...”

“You are grinding,” Taruk remarks.

“I…what?” His absurd statement gives me a reprieve, a moment to take a breath. He thinks I’m grinding… against him? Does he think that by pulling me into his lap this is some sort of come-on, that I’m flirting with him or something?

We don’t like each other like that. Not anymore. He doesn’t like me at all, apparently.

So why the hell is he even here, comforting me? Worse, saying that I’m grinding on him?

I mean, I’m not blind! He’s sexy as all hell, especially wearing this leather outfit, and if the circumstances were different then… It’s so easy to imagine his powerful arms wrapped around me, holding me close to his body, as we rock together in ecstasy. I can still feel how his breath ghosted my skin, how his claws pricked me, how…

I pull away from him, leaning back as far as his powerful arms will allow me to, and glare at him as best I can. My cheeks heat as a blush takes over. Reality is, I want to grind against him. But he can’t know that. He’s the enemy.

“I’m not grinding against you,” I tell him in as firm of a voice as I can. Still, it comes out as a squeak.

Taruk scowls down at me, his default state. It’s like when I’m around all he does is grump and disapprove.

And I hate how a desperate part of me wants him to like me.

“When Volscians are stressed or unhappy, they rub their horns regularly. Sometimes with their hands, sometimes against other objects. It helps relieve the tension, like sore muscles getting a massage. But when that stress doesn’t go away for a long time, the action grinds and wears away their horns. One can look physically healthy, smile to the world even, but it does not mean they are well on the inside. This state is called grinding.”

“It sounds like what you’re describing is depression,” I tell him. I wouldn’t have thought myself depressed, but now that he mentions it, it certainly feels like something has been missing from my life. I haven’t felt the same since the abduction.

Taruk surprises me by drawing me back against his chest. For a moment I fight his hold, pressing my hands against his chest, but he’s an unmovable object, and if I am truly honest with myself, I want something to hold me. Didn’t this whole mess start because I wanted a cuddle?

“You haven’t ruined anything, Zoe,” he speaks softly, words stirring the hairs on my head with a teasing caress. I lean my head against his firm chest, feeling the muscles flex beneath my cheek. I can’t stop my fingers from gently stroking, a thrill at the forbidden touch drifting through me.

I close my eyes. I want to believe him…

“You were right when you said this was all my fault,” I tell him, hanging onto old beliefs. “You were right about me being a mistake.”

Taruk scowls down at me, his expression thunderous. “You are not a mistake, Zoe. I thought my actions were the mistake, but never you. You are perfect.”

His words bring fresh tears to my eyes. If you’d asked me, I would have never said I needed to hear them, but apparently I do.

Taruk heaves a huge sigh, like he’s letting out a weight from his soul. “I’m the one that must ask for your forgiveness, little human. I was scared and lashed out at you. It was unacceptable behavior. I… for a long time now I’ve struggled with letting anyone get close to me, and then here you were, and I…”

I look up at him. Truly look at him. My warrior is covered in scars and avoids everyone. It’s clear something happened in his past to make him like this. When he forgot about his wounds, for those brief moments that we were hunting the Yum-yums together, he acted like a different person. He was friendly and sweet and caring and carefree. Pushing him the way I did probably didn’t help. Assuming that we had something more than just sexual tension was a fault on my behalf.

“Apology accepted. It was just sex after all,” I say, shaking my head. I stare out at the plants around us, refusing to meet his eyes. “It doesn’t have to be anything more.”

Liar. I’m such a liar. I so desperately want something more. And with this guy specifically, I realize. No other alien has attracted me as much as him; both body and soul.

“Was it though?” Taruk asks, his finger tilting my face up to his. “I cherished our time together, and always will.”

“You did?” I ask, strangely breathless. I’ve never had a conversation like this with an alien before, one that feels like your soul is being bared.

“I’m asking you for more, Zoe,” he says, his voice raw. “As much as you are willing to give me. I’ll spend my life convincing you that I’m worth your love.”

Fresh tears leak down my cheeks as my vision blurs.

“Are you proposing to me?” I ask. Because this is totally not how I imagined a proposal would go. I mean, who wants to be bawling their eyes out in front of their guy? Oh, let’s face it. I’m such an emotional person that I cry watching cute cat videos. I’m totally a cry-when-proposed-to type of girl.

“Yes,” Taruk replies. “I am proposing to you that we become mates.”

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