Page 9 of Treasured By the Alien Rogue

“I assume you’re speaking of yourself.”

I shrugged, giving her another grin. She was beautiful. Full of spunk. I adored her already. How could I do anything else but smile?

“I’ll go with you for now,” she grumbled. “But only because I don’t think I’ll last more than ten seconds here before something kills me.”

It was a start, something I could work with.

“I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to protect you.” I held out my hand. “I’m Xax.”

“Amanda.” She tentatively placed her fingers on my palm.

Heat coiled up my arm from her touch. Could she feel it too? From the way she hissed and snatched her hand away, clutching it against her chest, she did.

“Welcome to the planet Zuldrux,” I purred. “It’s nice to meet you, Amanda.”

“Maybe, Xax. I’m still not sure about any of this. We’ll have to wait and see.” Her wedged brow persisted.

It was clear she had reservations, and I couldn’t blame her. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel if I found myself in her situation.

But the gods had not made a mistake.

Chapter 5

Amanda

We walked along a wide trail meandering through the woods, following the triceratops who’d romped through the forest and disappeared into the trees. As long as they didn’t turn back and trample us, I could handle snaking around the steaming piles of dung they’d left behind.

My nightie kept flopping down, flashing my right boob, until Xax stopped and turned me to face him. He handed me the limp purple plant he insisted was a sign from his gods.

Before I could back away, he gently gathered the two torn pieces of my nightie together. My skin twitched from the glide of his rough calluses, and I didn’t like the way the tingles followed the same path. Frowning, he tied the fabric in a knot to keep my nipple from peeking out once more. After studying my face for a long moment, he took the purple plant from me and nodded.

“Thank you,” I said. Most guys would’ve joked about me exposing myself to them, but this one had seen my discomfort and fixed the problem. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something this kind for me.

“Are you an only child?” I asked as we started walking again.

“Yes. You?”

“Same. My parents abandoned me when I was ten. They dropped me off at the fire department and hit the gas, riding off into the sunset together.”

“I don’t know what a fire department is, but I’m sorry.” Taking my hand, he squeezed it before releasing it.

“I appreciate that, Xax, but my life after that wasn’t half bad. I was placed in a good foster home, and they kept me safe and made sure I had three meals each day. And the after-school program at the YMCA down the street was amazing. That kept me out of trouble.”

“Did your new parents love you?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” I frowned. “They weren’t mean to me.”

“I’m sorry again.”

“Don’t pity me. They gave me the most important thing, a home.” I peered up at him, liking but not liking the sympathy shining in his teal eyes. The color reminded me of pictures I’d seen of the Caribbean Sea. The kind of water that looked pretty until you stepped into it and got stung by a jellyfish or something like that. He was so beautiful that if he turned on the charm, I was going to have a hard time resisting him. Would he end up stinging me too? “What about your parents?”

“They died when I was a youngling.” His strong jaw tightened, and shadows flicked through his eyes. “Our elder took me in. She fostered me like your parents did.”

“I’m sorry. Was she nice to you?”

“Yes, she loves me, and I love her as well.”

Must be nice. I swallowed down the bitter lump in my throat. Every kid deserved to be adopted by someone who’d love them. I was just one of the unlucky ones, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t grown up right.

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