Page 67 of Holiday with the Aliens

He flicked his hand up and Arest’s arms sagged down, suddenly free.

That one move sealed the man’s fate. And that of the ambassador.

A sharp pinch on his arm brought him out of the fog and into the cavern that he’d claimed for the night. The soft press of flesh against his chest anchored him to the present and the heat of her thigh against his cock made himwantto stay.

But Stella looked at him with worry, not desire. “You stopped breathing,” she said. “One second you were fine, then you went totally limp.” Her eyes raked over him, searching his exposed flesh for any hint of injury. “Did the monster get you?”

His trainers? The ambassador? No, she knew nothing of the dream. She spoke of the monster from before. “I… am…” he cleared his throat, croaking out the words through tight vocal chords, “well.”

Her eyes widened. “You can talk? More than two words?”

The dream jarred something loose, or perhaps it was the hours and hours away from the BEAST trainers. They kept tight control on him, ensuring he was never a threat to those who kept him. His head and body ached and he realized that he’d not been given whatever drugs he normally took to dull his senses.

In answer to Stella’s question, he nodded, his voice still rusty. They rarely required him to talk and he knew that it had been some time, perhaps years, since he’d spoken in full sentences.

She pulled away from him.Triedto pull away from him. But Arest held onto her arm and wrapped himself around her. For a moment, Stella stiffened, but then she relaxed when he did nothing more than hold tight.

Her skin was chilled and she shivered, even in his embrace. He wished that he had something to give her, but she wore more than he did, and he barely felt the cold. That was another thing they’d done to him.

“Who are you?” she whispered against him, burrowing closer and turning herself so they were chest to chest, her head nestled into the crook of his neck.

Arest breathed deep of her scent. This chamber reminded him of the place beneath the arena where the trainers and the whips did their tortures, but this time he was safe. They were safe. For now. He knew that something was wrong with these tunnels and that he’d been sent on a mission for a reason, but that was all trapped below the cobwebs and chaos that had only started to abate.

But Stella wished to know him, and she sat quietly in his arms waiting for an answer. So he gave her what little bits of himself he had and hoped that it was enough. He grabbed her hand and placed it on his heart, where she’d touched him so gently before. “Arest,” he said, “wasn’t always my name. Don’t remember before.” And every time he tried to prod that cloud of memory, pain lanced through him and he was forced to retreat. “Used to be something else.” He looked down at his claws where they rested lightly against Stella’s shirt, the ends tearing little pinpricks in the soft fabric. He pulled his hands back, unwilling to risk any damage to her. “I’m… bad.” Even though she’d woken him before the dream ended, he could feel the heat of the ambassador’s blood on his hands. He’d done the deed then. The only thing that’d saved him was that it would cost far more to kill him than to just package him off to the next victim.

Stella’s fingers wrapped around the base of his neck and pushed through the short hair there. Arest let out an involuntary little moan. It felt so good to be touched, for her to touch him, hedidn’t know how to let go, even though he feared every moment that he held on to her.

“You’re not bad,” she said. “You’re a protector.”

He didn’t believe her, but he didn’t say it out loud, not while she cradled him close. “Stella? Who?” Full sentences were still a bit much, especially after cutting his past open and letting it bleed over her, pathetic trickle that it was.

She gave a hollow laugh. “Me? I’m no one. I’m a mission coordinator for the civilian fleet, which is a fancy word for a secretary. My parents are gone, my brother’s a marine out past the third quadrant somewhere. And if I never come back from this crash I don’t think anyone back home will remember to miss me.” A tear leaked out of her eye and she wiped it away with a fierce jerk of her arm.

“I will,” he said. And kissed her.

Chapter Five

For a moment Stella didn’t know how to react to the hot lips covering her own. But only for a moment. Instinct slammed into her and she curled her fingers into his nape and slung her other arm around his back to pull him closer. She opened her mouth under his, brushing her tongue against his like it belonged there.

Arest was hesitant, either out of shock or inexperience. But when she didn’t pull away, he gently flattened his hands against her back, hyper-conscious of his claws, and pressed close. His cock prodded hard between them, an invitation and reminder that he was as much man as beast.

She knew she shouldn’t want to kiss him, but Stella didn’t care. Not when his eyes burned that hot fire-blue and he held her like something precious. Not when he called himself bad and spent every moment since they’d met protecting her.

A soft scrape of teeth reminded her to be careful of his sharp edges, but nothing could make her pull back, not just yet. She needed to be closer, to take his warmth and make it hers, to hold him tight and blunt his sharp edges until he was something that fit perfectly beside her.

He tasted of wildness and danger, wicked and unrestrained and completely hers for this minute. And she had control over him. When she leaned closer, he pulled her in. When she brushed her tongue against his, he returned her caress, but he took nothing she didn’t first give and made no move to push her beyond a kiss.

Desire sizzled through her as she realized he was holding himself back, and she wanted to break that leash, to set him off until he covered her and lit her up, until she exploded around him in a pleasure she’d never before known.

Human guys were fine. But they weren’t Arest.

And because she wanted it—him—so bad, she forced herself back. Her hands rested on his shoulders and she breathed deep, the taste of his lips still heavy on her tongue. He stared at her, eyes wide and mouth swollen, a little shocked and a lot aroused. She wanted to take his lower lip and bite down, drag him back towards her and have her way with him.

But they were still stuck in the middle of the tunnels of mystery and her throat was getting scratchy. They needed water, and food. Her candy bars wouldn’t last them more than another day. Still, she and Arest could steal one more minute.

He lifted a hand and cradled her cheek, his claws no longer as terrifying as they’d once been. She leaned into his palm, unsure of what to say. Unsure if anything needed to be said.

“Stella,” he whispered.

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