Page 39 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

The figure raised two hands — both on the right side of its body. “It’s me.”

“Rendash!” Relief washed through Zoey. Her legs wobbled, threatening to give out, but she remained upright. “Is he…?”

“I left his remains farther out in the wasteland, hidden in the vegetation. It should be some time before he is discovered.”

Remains. She knew the word was basically interchangeable withbodyorcorpse, but it made it sound like there were only pieces left of the man. Zoey’s gut churned. The bastard had deserved it, but that didn’t mean she wanted to imagine what Ren had done to him.

Rendash moved closer, entering the light fully. All four of his gleaming eyes focused on her as he angled his head down. “Are you all right, Zoey?”

“Yeah. No. I…” She shuddered. “I’ll be fine.”

Frowning, Ren placed a hand on her shoulder. “He cannot harm you now.”

Zoey raised a hand and curled her fingers around his forearm. “Thank you.”

A faint trembling ran through his arm, and she heard it echoed in his exhalations. She was more inclined to think of it as fury rather than nerves.

“We have a vehicle, now,” he said after a while, voice strained. “We should make use of it before it gets much later.”

She nodded and glanced toward the truck. It’d be best if she didn’t reflect upon the circumstances that had brought it into their possession. God, she’d been stupid for so long. And tonight…

Zoey had been well aware of the dangers of hitchhiking, the dangers of being a woman alone after dark, andof coursethose dangers would coalesce into reality the one damned time she was in such a situation.

You keep swinging, life, and you’re banging me up pretty good. But you know what? I’m still on my damn feet.

“Let’s go,” she said.

Ren’s hand didn’t fall away when she moved to walk around the truck. She glanced at him, and he guided her to turn toward him again. Taking gentle hold of her wrists, he spread her arms to either side. His eyes — and his lower hands — ran over her carefully. His touch sent a thrill along her limbs that shot straight to her core. It was the most inappropriate time to feel aroused — she’d been assaulted, and a man had been killed! — but she had no control of her body’s reaction. She was aware of every point of contact between them.

“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

“Making sure you are unharmed.” That tremor remained in his voice, faint but audible.

He frowned as one of his fingers brushed over the spot on her cheek where she’d been struck.

“I’m fine. Really. I hit him more than he hit me.”

His hands didn’t still as he turned her around to continue his examination from behind. He moved close to her, so close that she felt the warmth of his breath on her hair as he slid his palms down to her hips.

Her breath quickened. “Ren?”

His only acknowledgement that she’d spoken was a soft, questioning grunt. His upper hands slid to her ribs, fingers curled just beneath her breasts, while his lower hands dipped to her outer thighs.

Zoey had a powerful urge to press herself against his hard body. Her sex clenched, and heat pooled between her thighs. “Ren…we…we should get going.”

Finally, his hands stilled, though they lingered on her. “Yes. We should. It…is cold out here.” His arms fell away, and he stepped back. Zoey shivered with the loss of his warmth.

The passenger door opened without issue from the outside, and the truck dipped to one side as Ren entered. Zoey walked around to the driver’s seat and climbed in; it was a small wonder she was able to, considering her limbs felt like jelly.

Helping Ren force the window panels back into place to block the cold offered her a few minutes of distraction, but reality soon reasserted itself.

Dean Martin had given way to Buddy Holly. Zoey turned off the radio; her appetite for music had fled.

Her appetite for Ren, however, still raged through her blood.

Chapter Nine

Zoey stepped into the motel room, leaving the door open for Rendash, who was still cloaked, to enter behind her. He brushed a finger over her arm as he passed to signal that he’d come in. Her lips parted with a soft inhalation before she shut the door, locked it, and drew the curtains closed to block the window that looked out over the vehicle storage lot.

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