Page 31 of Tamed By the Alien Warlord
“You should have missed having a right arm,” she snaps. “What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I’d rather blow myself up than let anything happen to you.”
Her expression twists. Anger, gratitude, something else. “You’re an idiot.”
“Takes one to love one,” I say.
She glares. “Nobody said anything about love.”
“No?” I grin through the pain. “What do you call refusing to leave my side, then?”
She opens her mouth, closes it. Then groans. “We are not doing this right now.”
“Doing what?”
“Talking about feelings.”
I shift, biting back a grunt. “You brought it up.”
“Only because you made it weird!”
We glare at each other for a second—and then both start laughing. Mine’s more like coughing, but I’ll take it.
She wipes her eyes. “Jasmine’s okay, by the way.”
I nod. “I heard. Gash assigned her Devak’s quarters. He died screaming, so it’s probably good luck.”
“She’s sleeping. Healing. Gash even braided her hair.” Georgia snorts. “Didn’t think Reapers knew how to braid.”
“We know lots of things. Especially when it comes to claiming what’s ours.”
She goes quiet. Then, softer, “You think I should be in there, watching her breathe?”
I study her. “Maybe.”
She leans back. “You want me to go?”
“No.” I glance at the empty space in the bed beside me. “I want you right here.”
She moves without another word.
Climbs into the narrow medbed and presses herself against me, careful but confident. Her head tucks under my chin. My left arm—the only one left—wraps around her shoulder like it was made to.
We fit. Somehow, we just... fit.
“You’re warm,” she murmurs.
“You’re mine,” I reply.
She hums, and I feel the vibration through my chest. Then, teasingly: “I’m still going to mouth off.”
“I’m still going to punish you for it.”
She tilts her head to look at me, eyes glassy and just a little wicked. “Oooh. Promise?”
I kiss her.
It’s slow. Deep. No desperation this time—just a kind of gentle claiming. Her hand cups my jaw. Mine holds her tighter.
