Page 38 of An Alien for Her Heart

Varek doesn’t move from where he stands, but when he speaks, it’s like he is right before me, not even a breath separating us. His gaze locks with mine, the intensity in his eyes stealing the breath from my lungs. He takes a step forward, the floorboards creaking under his weight, and the sound seems to reverberate right through me.

“No, Catherine,” he says, his voice low and filled with a meaning I’m almost afraid to decipher. “I’m not finished. Not even close.”

My heart hammers against my ribs, the implication behind his words sending a shiver down my spine. He’s not talking about the outbuilding anymore, and we both know it.

“Varek…” I whisper. “What do you want?”

He takes another step, closing the distance between us until I can feel the heat radiating from his body. “I’m saying,” he says, “there’s still much to be done here. Much to be…explored.”

His gaze moves down my face for a brief, searing moment before returning to my eyes. “I find myself drawn to you, Catherine. In ways I can’t ignore.”

A nervous laugh chokes through me. “I haven’t done anything for you to be drawn to me. You hardly know me.”

“But I want to.” Four simple words that are so powerful they erase the retort on my lips. “And I cannot walk away, not without knowing…without seeing where this path might lead.”

I shake my head, stepping away from him, putting some space between us because his proximity is making it hard for me to breathe. “Varek, maybe I’ve done something to make you think there’s potential for something here. But…there isn’t. I can’t… I’m not on the market for anything.”

“Good.”

My gaze flies to his. I’m immediately confused. A bit thrown off, to be honest, by that single word. “Good?”

“Yes.” His claws clench and unclench as if he’s fighting some instinct to do something and when he forces himself to take a step back, I realize he’s trying to give me the space I need even though his body is telling him to do the opposite. “Good,” he repeats, his voice softer but no less intense. “Because I don’t want to share you with anyone, Catherine. I want you all to myself.”

The sincerity in his words, the raw honesty, takes my breath away. “Varek, I…” This is all way too soon. I’ve only just met him. If this was some guy on Earth, I’d have removed myself from the situation. Probably even told security to ensure he never enters the building. But I’m not on Earth. And this isn’t just some guy. This isn’t even a man. He’s male, but he’s not human. He’s different. Different from anything else I’ve ever encountered.

He raises a claw, stopping me before I can speak again. “I understand you’re hesitant. But know this—I am patient. I willwait. I will prove myself. Because you, Catherine…you are worth it.”

I shake my head. “You don’t know that.”

“Let me find out.”

“Varek—” Damn, he’s persistent, I’ll give him that.

“See where it leads, sura.”

I swallow hard, my mouth suddenly dry. “And where do you think it might lead?”

A ghost of a smile plays at the corners of his mouth and I’m struck by just how handsome he is. Not like a human male. Different. There’s a raw primal energy that seems to be swirling around him. One that hints at his power. His lust. His potential love.

“I know not,” he replies. “Not yet. But I want to find out…if you are willing.”

12

CATHERINE

The entire day is filled with a bunch of nerves that seem alight and heightened just underneath my skin. My cottage roof is done, the Raki having been true to his word and completing it the day before. My barn roof is done, too. Varek completed it in record time.

Both things should make me happy. Should have me feeling much more secure and stable. Should reduce some of the stress now that I literally have a roof over my head. But they don’t. Because the moment I woke, my heart was beating unnaturally. And when I opened my door and found the bunch of pretty flowers there, that unnatural unsteady beat only increased.

Varek is nowhere to be seen, but his truck is by the gate. And the flowers, well, the flowers didn’t just deliver themselves.

I should put them down. I shouldn’t accept them. Shouldn’t encourage this, whatever it is. I certainly shouldn’t bring them to my nose. Certainly shouldn’t sniff them.

They’re lovely, their sweet scents flowing into my nose along with the morning air. And they’re beautiful too. Large petals in pastel hues that make them seem more like a painting than real things. Fighting the twinge of warmth starting in my gut, I headback inside and place the flowers in some water before getting dressed for the day.

I choose a pair of trousers this time—the only one I have. It looks similar to the one Varek wears and I’m pretty certain it was meant for a male twice my size because I have to use a long strip of linen to grab the waist and tie it so it doesn’t just slide off my frame.

I tie my hair back into a ponytail too, pausing just in front of my reflection in the mirror as I take myself in. No makeup. Not even a stain of that powder I’d found and mixed with a bit of cooking oil to make the lipstick I’d tried yesterday. Embarrassment fills me again at the thought of it. What was I even doing? Trying to look pretty for him when I know that he and I can never be? Seems counterproductive.

---