Page 137 of Rok's Captive
His pace quickens, each thrust sending a wave of pleasure crashing through me. I cling to him, my nails digging into his back as I meet each movement, our bodies moving in perfect sync.
“Mine,” Rok growls again, his voice a low rumble that vibrates through my entire being.
“Yours,” I whisper, my voice breaking as the pleasure builds to a peak. The word feels too small for what’s between us now—what’s been growing since he first carried me through the desert.
When my release finally comes, it’s like a tidal wave, crashing over me with an intensity that leaves me shaking—not just from pleasure, but from the shocking truth that rises with it:
I love him.
Rok stills suddenly, his golden eyes widening.“Why does your heart race? Are you dying?”His mental voice is frantic, claws flexing against my hips like he’s ready to fight death itself.
A breathless laugh escapes me. I press my forehead to his, our minds entwined as I whisper back,“Worse. I’m in love.”I can’t describe it. It’s only a feeling. So I send that feeling to him, every ounce of it. The depth of it. The light of it.
For a moment, Rok’s hips stutter. His growl vibrates through my bones, part triumph, part reverence.“Love,”he repeats, right before his glow suddenly swells. He seals the word with his lips on mine.
I love him.
This fierce, golden alien who learned to smile for me. Who fought monsters on my behalf without hesitation. Who changed himself to fit me better, yet never asks me to be anything but what I am.
Rok follows moments later, his powerful body shuddering against mine as he finds his own release, his mind wide open to mine, sharing every ounce of his pleasure and…and his love. The emotion pours into me, warm and certain as sunrise, and I clutch him tighter, my cheek pressed to his pounding chest.
We collapse together in a tangle of limbs, my revelation still humming through my veins. Rok cradles me against him, his arms wrapping around me like living armor. His skin glows faintly where it touches mine like our own private constellation, and my heart swells in my chest.
“Thank you,” I whisper, but it’s not just for this moment. It’s for the water shared when I was thirsty. For carrying me when I couldn’t walk. For seeing me—really seeing me—in a way no one ever has.
Rok’s thumb brushes my lower lip. “We are one.” His certainty vibrates through our connection. “Forever, Jus-teen.”
And he’s right. I know it with a bone-deep certainty. Messed up as my arrival was, I was meant to be here. He was meant to find me.
The knowledge settles in my bones as sleep pulls at me.
I am his.
He is mine.
And this desert that tried to kill us both?
It brought me home.
A sense of peace settles over me. Not complete—not with Jacqui still missing—but enough to quiet the worst of my fears.
“We will find your sister-kin,” Rok projects, sensing the direction of my thoughts. “That is my oath to you, Jus-teen.”
A smile crosses my lips.
I believe him.
Epilogue
THARN’S HUNT: BARBARIANS OF THE DUST: BOOK 2
Hallucinations 101: Please take a seat
JACQUI
The desert holds twenty-seven ways to die. I’ve cataloged them all in my mind journal, a morbid habit that’s somehow kept me sane during these endless days wandering this alien wasteland. Dehydration. Heat stroke. Predator attack. Starvation. Falling from heights. Quicksand. The list goes on.
Today, I’m fairly certain I’ve discovered number twenty-eight: hallucination-induced cliff diving.
