Page 65 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

Zoey blushed. That was what she should’ve asked him —how many females have you had sex with?“You go right for the throat, don’t you? Two.”

Palm up, he gestured to the board.

Zoey moved her piece, not realizing until she’d already lifted her finger that it was a mistake. “Shit.”

Rendash took his checker between two long fingers. It came down once, twice, each drop a rumble of thunder. One of his lower arms stretched forward to pluck two of her chips off the board.

“King me,” he said.

Reluctantly, Zoey set one of the captured black pieces atop his newly anointed king.

“That’s two questions and an action, correct?” he asked.

“Yes,” Zoey replied, bracing herself.

“Are you attracted to me, Zoey?”

She lifted her gaze. Her eyes roamed over his body of their own accord. She took in his broad shoulders, his strong arms, the rippling muscle of his bare chest and abdomen, and his hands. Zoey rememberedexactlywhat those hands felt like upon her body.

Arousal ignited deep within, flooding her core with sudden heat.

She looked into his eyes. “Yes.”

The corners of his mouth lifted in a small, satisfied smile. He spread his arms a little wider and leaned back in his chair. “What do you want, Zoey? What do youreallywant, to make you happy?”

Zoey swallowed, her heart skipping.

I want someone to look at me like you are right now for every day of the rest of my life.

She dropped her attention to the table, absently tracing the tiny, raised crown on the top face of Ren’s king.

“I want stability. I want…a home.” she answered.

“Explain, human.”

“You’re out of questions.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

Zoey glared at him but couldn’t hold back a smile. “Bossy alien.” She sighed and shrugged as the seriousness of the explanation settled over her. “After my dad died, I never had a real home. I went to live with my grandmother for a little while, but she passed away the next year. After that…I had no one. I was put in foster homes with strangers, moved around from place to place — some good, some not so good. That was my life until I was eighteen. Then I got a job and saved up to get my own place.

“My friend Melissa, the one who I was driving to meet, was in the last foster home I lived in. We became friends and shared an apartment for a little while but I…I wanted to see things.”More like I wanted to run away before everything fell apart, because why wouldn’t it have?“So, I hit the road and left Des Moines behind. I always wanted to see the ocean, and when I ended up in Santa Barbara, California, I just kind of…stuck around. I didn’t mean to stay, but traveling was expensive, so I got a job.

“And then I met Joshua.” She frowned, sitting back in her chair and settling her hands atop the table. “I thought I had a future with him. We both had jobs, we found an apartment for a decent price, and I thought… He lost his job not long after we moved in together. We weren’t doing great, but we were making it, so I told myself it was okay. We’d make it work. One day at a time.” Zoey scowled. “But I found out the truth,eventually.”

“And then I forced my way into your life, at that lowest point,” he said softly.

Zoey smiled at him. “My time with you has been the highest point in my life since my dad passed.”

“I am glad to give you something in return for what you’ve done for me. Though now I feel the mood may be too serious for what I was going to ask you to do.”

Zoey had completely forgotten about that part of their deal; she owed him an action.

“Well, a deal is a deal,” she said. “Lay it on me.”

He stared at her for a few moments, lightly tapping three of his fingers on the table, as though hesitant to tell her. “You’re sure?”

“Would you back out of our deal it was me asking?”

---