Page 31 of Treasured By the Alien Rogue

Give me a fully belly, and I was done for the night.

“Alright.”

My eyeballs ached, and I couldn’t stop trembling. “This is too much for me to deal with right now. I want to sleep, wake up to hot tea with a splash of almond milk, plus waffles with strawberry jam and whipped cream. I don’t want to think about anything else tonight.” When he rose from his chair, I backed away from him. “No touching.”

“No touching,” he said softly. “Please know I would never harm you. All I wish to do is care for and protect you.”

“No more talk about us being mates. No more fated anything. Not until the sun’s up, and I’ve drained at least two cups of tea.”

I could tell he didn’t understand half of what I was saying, but I kept at it because, if I didn’t, I feared I’d start shrieking and pulling out my hair, something I’d never done but suddenly found held much appeal.

Man, was I exhausted.

“Very well,” he said. He gave me a wide berth as he passed me, aiming for the doorway on the right. “You can sleep in here.”

“I need to brush my teeth. Put on jammies.” Where was a teddy bear when a girl needed one? I was reverting back to my childhood. If I wasn’t careful, his god would produce a pacifier and thrust it into my mouth.

“Let me show you how you can address your needs.”

While I didn’t hear anything sexual in his statement, heat thrilled through me.

Did I happen to mention that this alien was dangerous?

“This is the bathing chamber,” he said, gesturing to the open doorway on the left. He guided me inside. “Tell the god what you need, and they will provide it.” With that, he stepped out into the living area and a panel slid closed to give me privacy.

What I wanted, huh? How about a one-way ride back to Earth? Could his god give that to me on demand?

I stared around the room that was as empty as the rest of the house.

I wasn’t a person who collected many possessions. I didn’t make enough money to buy fancy stuff very often. But when I did buy things, I looked for quality. An antique bedframe that I refinished myself. The best mattress I could afford. Fluffy bedding with high thread count sheets. I’d slept on a futon with thrift store bedding for years until I could afford to buy nice stuff.

I’d carefully collected an antique hutch and china to fill it. A squishy sofa. A solid wood bookshelf to hold all of my favorite novels.

It had taken me over a year to save up for the kitchen table and chairs I’d admired forever.

And now I assumed all my precious belongings were being sorted through by my landlord. If I knew her, she’d slap an eviction notice on the door the day after my rent wasn’t paid. She’d knock a few times over the next week, and when I didn’t answer, she’d have the police break down the door. When it was clear I’d gone missing, she’d hold a yard sale with my stuff and pocket the money she made from the sale.

The thought of it happening stabbed through me, but my pretty things were the past. I suspected Zuldrux was my new future.

I was exhausted. My body ached. I couldn’t stop yawning.

But standing in an empty “bathing chamber” —as Xax called it—was what nearly broke me.

How was I supposed to bathe or brush my teeth in an empty room?

He said to ask.

“Alexa?” I called out, my voice quavering.

Nothing.

I cringed but said it. “Um, Xax’s god? Are you there?”

A golden glow erupted overhead, bathing the room in soft light.

“I want to brush my teeth. I’ll need a toothbrush and paste, plus a sink and water. Oh, and I need to floss.” My dentist could tell when I didn’t—another thought that strangely made me want to cry.

I’d nearly torn an alien a new one an hour or so ago, and now I was nearly sobbing about the lack of dental floss. Talk about moody.

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