Page 116 of I'm Not Your Pet

I knew that.

But it hurt to have the power of conversation taken away from us only a few short hours after we’d gotten it.

Roark looked just as jarred as I felt. When he paid our bill and handed back both of our translators, he wavered—like he wasn’t sure he wanted to return them either. His spots went gray and I latched on to his elbow, rubbing the soft skin—he was shirtless, like usual—until his spots turned pink and he flashed me a grateful smile.

It was rough, leaving them behind, for both of us.

Silence weighed us down as we stepped out of the lobby and the sprawl of the city spread at our feet below the steps.

Roark, as always, was quick to reassure.

Exhaling, he leaned down to nuzzle the top of my head. The hot puff of his breath in my hair soothed us both as he guided me down the steps and to the busy street on our way toward the main stretch of shops.

“Huu-goh is go-een shopping with me.” Roark spoke carefully in English, the words gruff and stilted like I’d grown to expect from him. We’d already hashed this out, so I knew he was trying to get my mind off things—which I appreciated.

“I’ve already been shopping.” I blinked at him and he huffed in amusement, eyes shifting into happy crescents. His spots were white.

“Huu-goh went shopping with Ushuu,” Roark shook his head. “Has not gone withme.”

My belly flipped.

There was no room for argument in his tone, and I liked that even more now that we’d shared so much the night before.

I knew him in a way I hadn’t before.

I didn’t think I’d ever been closer to another person.

Scientifically speaking, I’d never contemplated the idea of soulmates. I’d never thought that could be a thing. It was magic—and I didn’t believe in that. But…maybe I’d need to rethink my earlier hypothesis. Because I was pretty sure I’d met my soulmate. And he was big, and pink, and his cum tasted like pineapple—and I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

I kinda wanted to send A&R a thank-you letter.

“Lead the way, Captain.” I made sure to use the word for “Captain” in sharkish. Roark sounded so sure of himself, so proud of his bossiness that I wanted to tease.

He stumbled a little, then barked out a laugh, shaking his head at me.

“Brat,” he said in perfect English.

For a second, I didn’t know how to respond. Because the fact he knew that word meant that he’d learned it from Ushuu. And that was just—so fucking funny and embarrassing I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh or scream.

Instead, I just grinned, wide and unrepentant.

And let Roark lead the way.

He’d already done so much for me, I was hesitant to take more. But…there was nothing but pleasure on Roark’s face as he brought me to my very first tech store. My eyes went wide, the possibilities endless. I’d never seen Roark more proud of himselfthan he was at that moment, as I proceeded to spend the next two hours flipping the fuck out over alien electronics.

I couldn’t read the price tags, and without Ushuu there to translate I had no idea how much anything cost.

Though, I didn’t think Roark really wanted me to know. He’d made that clear. And god…the smarmy little smile on his face as he followed behind me, grabbing one of every item I touched—a steadily growing pile in his arms—was just…fuck. He was gorgeous and wonderful and…man—I’d rarely seen him this elated.

Like spoiling me was doing something forhim.

In light of this, I came to the conclusion that maybe I shouldn’t argue.

Maybe I shouldlethim spoil me.

If it made himthathappy—I’d do anything.

Plus…I mean. Tech.Allthe fucking tech.

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