Page 41 of Tricked By the Alien Prince

Because he offers me unparalleled pleasure. And if his expression is anything to go by as he looks down at me, he can’t get enough of me.

And I want that. I desperately wish to belong, to be loved, to be cared for.

With trembling fingers, I reach up and cup his face. His heated breath washes over my skin, and it nearly breaks me when he turns to press a gentle kiss to my palm.

He holds himself up above me so as not to crush me… but what weight is on me, my breasts pressed tightly against his chest, feels nice.

Volan’s strong. He’s got muscles for days. Bulging, toned, and chiseled. He’s dangerous and wild as he stares down at me. For once, he’s not smirking, but instead looking at me with a dazzling smile. One that says he’s good and he knows it… and to be fair, he deserves it after that performance.

His luminae glows between us, reminding me that he’s not entirely human. Once, I would have hated that aspect of him… but I want him. I can’t help but wonder if we had met at a different time and place in our lives, would we still find our way to each other’s sides?

I want to think that we would have.

Because I one hundred percent have fallen in love with my alien… and this time, I accept my heart’s decision fully.

Things are finally, finally, going my way… and I couldn’t be happier.

ChapterTwenty-Four

VOLAN

“Maya?” I call as I slip back into the room on silent feet. I push the door behind me closed, ensuring that our voices won’t echo down the tunnels. Across the room, Maya is still curled up asleep where I left her, wrapped up in my cloak. She’s not cold, not if the fully clothed leg thrust from beneath the material or the flushed cheeks mean anything; she just wanted to cling to something.

A shame it wasn’t me. It should have been me. Preferably while she was still naked. But I had plenty to do, and took the opportunity while she rested.

I could have taken her with me this morning, but I wanted her to rest. After I was done with her last night, she was utterly exhausted. I’m honestly surprised that I’m even up and about, feeling as invigorated as I do—yet she makes me feel more alive than I have ever felt before.

If she’s sleeping this late, then I’ve pushed her too hard, I realize. I marched her across the Atraxis surface, and then through tunnels non-stop. I barely paused for a rest after the scampers found us, fearing more tracking us. On top of that, she’s reassessed her entire past, forced to truly consider who she is and what her priorities are in life. The emotional turmoil she’s been experiencing… it’s enough to make even a warrior falter.

I faltered.

I keep failing her. I should have told Maya last night, but instead, I let my desire for her sweep me up. It really wasn’t hard to do so when she was begging me so sweetly to kiss her.

I no longer have a choice. Time is running out, especially now that I’ve set things in motion. I must wake her and explain who I truly am. I’ll ask her to meet my father, my people, and I’ll reveal my whole plan.

Yet even as I kneel beside her, my hand hovering over her shoulder, I find myself unable to wake her.

Will she still want me after I reveal everything? Will she turn to look at me with greed in her eyes, not love, once she knows that I am a prince? What if she decides that she doesn’t want me, my omissions too great a blow to her trust? Or what if she wants to return to the surface, to her own people, rather than live with my own?

I take a deep breath, reminding myself that I’ll figure it out. If I have to live on the surface just to be with her, I’ll gladly do it. Besides, didn’t I want my people to embrace the light once again—literally? For so long now, we’ve been living in the dark. Maya is our future. She’s my future.

I have no doubt that in time she’ll come to care for my people. As long as they are given the chance. As long as she gives me the chance.

The more I think about my new plan, the more I find myself determined. I will convince her to stay with me. I will take my rightful place as king, and I will save our people.

I run my hand over her shoulder, gently shaking her to consciousness. If I touch her any more than necessary, I risk everything. I’ll all too easily fall back beneath the covers with her, the temptation to stroke her soft skin overwhelming.

She blinks up at me groggily. The soft smile she gives me is nearly my undoing. She reaches for me… and I thrust the food that I’ve gathered while she slept into her hands.

“I brought you food,” I tell her, hastily making a retreat a few steps away. I pull another sobra bulb from a pouch, turning my focus entirely on the act of peeling it and shoving it into my mouth. Its juices taste like ash, nothing at all like Maya’s sweetness. I find no pleasure in eating the fruit.

Maya, on the other hand, clearly enjoys it, moaning as she takes a bite. Her eyes meet mine, challenging and suggestive.

“You know, I was thinking,” Maya states, pausing as she takes another bite of her fruit. Her lips glisten wetly with the juices, and I can barely stop myself from crawling over to her to sample the flavor. Would it taste better than mine? Probably.

“You are always thinking, halvi,” I force myself to reply. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about Maya, it is that her mind is brilliant. Give her a problem, and she doesn’t let go; too stubborn to give up. Her persistence is an inner strength that so many lack, even the strongest of warriors. Combined with her selflessness, she’d make a formidable queen.

“How did your people even make the medicine?” Maya asks. “Entire races have been trying to make a miracle cure like this for, well, thousands of years. Everything I’ve seen of your world… right now, we’re hidden underground in a small lab that doesn’t even look remotely big enough to research something like this.”

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