Page 16 of Cherished By the Alien Outlaw

His eyes opened. “Morning.” He had such a raspy voice when he was half asleep. It curled around me like a scent you wanted to inhale every day of your life. It made me want to crawl up his body and kiss him.

My own body heated, as did my face, and I dragged my gaze from his.

“Morning,” I said.

I did want to kiss him. Rub myself against him like a cat in heat. I wasn’t sure what all that meant.

Actually, I knew. I liked him. I found him sexy. I sensed we had chemistry. It wouldn’t take much more than that to push us together. I was living my own altered version of Stockholm Syndrome, except I was falling for the guy who’d saved my life, not my captor.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

I carefully moved my arm, grateful there was no pain. “Good. I don’t think I have a fever any longer. You’re a good doctor, Firion. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

“You’re strong. You’d find a way to survive.”

I doubted that. Yes, I had strength. Years of dancing did that for a person. And my will to survive held true. After our parents died, Maggie and I had made a pact we’d watch out for each other, and we had. We’dalternated cooking. Helped each other finish high school. Worked with an advisor at the bank to manage what was left of the life insurance money to make sure there would be enough to take classes part-time and to start our business after we’d saved more. We’d done better than most would despite our circumstances, and we were both proud of that.

Maggie.

Where was she? She could be dead by now. Lost in the desert. Or—

“Do you think my sister could be here as well?” Maybe she’d been captured and brought to this place like me.

“I don’t think so. They put you with me because I’m the only Zuldruxian as far as I can tell.”

“I’m not Zuldruxian.”

“We look more like each other than them. If they’d captured her too, I assume they would’ve put her with us. Some of the cells hold three and even four Veerenads.

My body sagged with relief against his, though not being here didn’t mean she was any safer. She could be . . .

No, I wouldn’t let myself think anything bad. I’d tell myself she was okay, that she was looking for me but that she’d found someone like Firion who protected and watched out for her.

I’d look for her, no matter what. I was going to find her and then things would be better. We’d watch out for each other again and together; we’d be much stronger than we could ever be on our own.

Bangs echoed down the hall, and Firion tensed.

“Food?” I asked.

“Or they’ve come to collect us. We’ll work in the mine today, and I want you to stay near me at all times.”

Shivers crept across my skin. “I will.” I’d be foolish to wander away from his side.

We sat up on the side of the bunk.

“Oh,” I said, frowning at the neat pile of folded clothing on the floor beneath the table. “Where did that come from?”

“I asked the stone gods for it.”

Stone gods? I still wasn’t sure what that might mean. He’d explained they were another species living on the planet. If they were here with us, and they helped him with whatever he needed, why weren’t they breaking us out of this horrible place?

“Tell me more about your gods? I want to understand.”

“All of the women have found them confusing at first. I’ll show you.”

The sound of carts slowly moving down the hall reached us, suggesting they were delivering breakfast. They’d hand us food soon. I didn’t dare say much in case they overheard.

“If you can leave the cell, you need to take me with you next time.” Had he slunk out while I was sleeping? That was the only way he could’ve found clean clothing. It didn’t just magically appear inside the cell.

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