Page 23 of Alien Kraken's Prize

Harry scooches down my body, inch-worming his way across the ship, until he finds the sole pool of water, embedded in the floor. There’s a small hatch, I suppose to keep the water in place when we’re taking flight, and he wriggles delightedly as it opens.

I grin at him, then resume taking in the spacecraft.

The insides of shells. That’s what’s all over the walls.

At least, I think they are, until I make my way to one, tilting my head as I study it.

“Is this?—”

“Pearls and gemstones,” Borumor answers before I can finish asking. “This is where I’ve kept all the hard-won treasures I’ve accumulated over the years. I might not be king anymore, but we won’t be hurting for money. Or food.”

I sniffle, tears welling in my eyes, and throw my arms around him. He stiffens, then pats my shoulders.

“I packed some things for you. I don’t know much about you, so I wasn’t sure what you like or want, but as soon as we are in space, I promise to feed you and figure out every last thing about you.”

“That sounds really good,” I tell him tearfully. “I have a comm to make before we eat, though. I think we should find out where my friend Aileen is and visit her.”

“Food first,” he tells me sternly. “Then we can call your friend. I won’t have you dropping of starvation, sea star.”

I hug him close again, beyond grateful for every single chaotic, bizarre turn of events that’s brought me to this exact moment—and to this powerful male who just wants to take care of me—and get to know me.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

BRIDGET

Six monthslater

I can’t wait to see Aileen. We’ve commed nearly every other day since I was first able to make contact with her, which, it turns out, took far longer than I expected after we got settled in space.

Borumor and I were so far out of the Starlight Lottery Hub range that speaking to them about finding Aileen and what happened to my original ship took ages. A month, to be more exact.

Borumor did exactly as he promised, though.

He got to know me.

And I got to know him, as well.

Perched on his lap, I don’t need a harness or a chair of my own, because his tentacles are doing the hard work of keeping me safe as we make landfall on the planet Aileen’s on… with her husband, no less.

I still can’t get over the bait and switch Starlight Lottery did with her, assigning her a husband instead of a new job, but…

“She seems happy as a clam,” I finish the thought out loud.

“You know how strange that expression is. Clams are by far the crankiest of all creatures in the seas,” Borumor tells me for the hundredth time.

And for the hundredth time, I break out into a gigantic grin. “Yes, but it makes me laugh every time you correct me.”

It’s been a long six months of space travel, and while we’ve had a few tense arguments stemming from cultural weirdness… Borumor is more than a perfect match for me.

“You know,” I tell him, tracing the pocket where I know all too well his cock hangs out most of the time. “I think maybe… I’m ready for more.”

“More food?” he asks, half-absorbed with ensuring all the gauges and controls still have us on track for a smooth landing.

I bite my cheeks. I haven’t seen his cock once—not once—the entire trip. He hasn’t marked me again, either, and the glitter is hardly visible now.

I catch him looking at me all the time, though, a hungry glint to his eyes, and I know I’m not the only one thinking about what it would be like.

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