Page 15 of Rescued By the Luxirian

“So, Droxan,” I murmured, his name on my lips making him straighten. His eyes zeroed in on me intently, making me feel like I was the only female on the entire planet. Which I supposed, I realized with a little laugh,I was. “You have a stubborn streak, do you?”

“Tev,” he murmured. And then he gave me a slow—panty melting, if I were wearing any—smile that sent a thrilling bolt of heat straight between my legs. Gods, he was ten times hotter when he smiled. That simply wasn’t fair. “Will that be a problem?”

Who is this guy?I wondered, my brain short-circuiting for a brief moment as I stared at him.

So many unanswered questions. So many unknowns.

“You’re not an axe-murderer right?” I couldn’t help but ask.

His brow rose.

“I’m just covering all my bases,” I told him.

“Nix,” he said slowly, drawing out the word. “I am not an ‘axe-murderer.’”

I blew out a sharp breath.

“So you’re from Luxiria,” I said, trying to have some sort of understanding of him in my mind. “And you bought a whole planet so that you could have privacy. And you’re not in exile?”

“Nix,” he told me, though the word was growled. He shook his head, making his wild, shortened locks swing. “IknewI would regret cutting my hair.”

A surprised laugh fell from my lips but it seemed to make his own tug upwards.

“Female,” came his voice, though it was soft and quiet. “I was a builder on Luxiria.”

That didn’t surprise me.

I gestured around his house. “I can see that.”

“I was good at it. Very good. As such, I was able to buy this planet,” he explained, though his words were stilted and it seemed like the words were being plucked from his lungs as he told me this. He seemed uncomfortable. “But I came here for more than just privacy. I came here to get away from…frompeople. From my family. I wasn’t...on Luxiria, I wasn’t…”

A wiggle of empathy went through my chest. “Happy?” I supplied.

“Not even that,” he murmured lowly, crossing to the counter I was eating on and sliding his forearms over the top of it so he was eye-level with me. I caught a whiff of his scent, musky and absolutely delicious. “I wasn’t evencontent, much less happy. Here? I feel a lot of peace.Thatis why I’m here.Thatis why I stay. Sonix, I am not an exiled axe-murdering Luxirian who escaped from a prison planet to come live here.Tev?”

I flushed a little at the words. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like that.”

“I know,” he said simply. “You are right to question me about these things. I would find it strange too, if I found a beautiful human female living on this planet alone.”

He thought I was beautiful?

I couldn’t help but grin at that.

“I would want to know if my safety was compromised too,” he told me. “But yours is not. I’ll take care of you while you’re here,tev?”

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

“And you’ll take my bed,” came his rough growl. “Tev?”

Or maybe I’ll just join you in it, I couldn’t help but think. His eyes went hot. As if he couldhearthe directions of my thoughts.

I was here for a whole week.

I was safe.

I was trapped with a Luxirian I wascrazilyattracted to, to the point that I wondered if Luxirians gave off potent pheromones specificallyforattracting humans.

“Yes,” I finally agreed, giving in.

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