Page 28 of Maid for the Alien Prince

That was his fault. He should have thought the situation through better!

I hurried toward the door for fear he might suddenly arrive when I noticed the door handle moving. The door creaked open like a prop in a horror movie.

Prince Rayaw stood in the doorway, his impressive muscular frame taking up almost the entire space. The palace had been built with the Ulsen size in mind, so he didn’t need to duck his head down to fit his horns through.

He shut the door behind himself. “Sorry for keeping you waiting,” he said. “Something came up.”

“You didn’t keep me waiting,” I said, folding my arms. “I… only just arrived here myself.”

I didn’t want him to think I was at his beck and call… even though I was at his beck and call.

“Oh. Good then.”

We stood staring at each other for a moment before he cleared his throat and motioned toward the bed. “Shall we make ourselves more comfortable?”

“I’m already comfortable,” I blurted.

He turned back to me and nodded thoughtfully. “Then perhaps you would like a drink?”

He moved for the drinks cabinet in the corner of the room. If I’d known it was there, I would have treated myself to something strong earlier!

“Yes,” I said. “Please.”

“What would you like?”

“Something strong.” Very strong.

“We have some Sisqaarth whiskey. Will that suffice?”

“Yes. Thanks.”

He poured a small amount into two glasses and handed me one. I immediately threw it back and extended the glass to him.

Surprised, he checked it was empty. “Would you like another?”

“Yes. No. I mean…”

He smiled and placed the empty glass and his drink on a side table. “There’s no need to be nervous. I’m a kind and thoughtful lover—”

“Can we change the subject?” I said. “We don’t need to make small talk, right? We both know why we’re here. There’s no need to prolong the inevitable.”

He pursed his lips. “There’s no need for us to rush. We can get to know each other a little first.”

I hardened my eyes. “Oh, I think I know enough about you already.”

“Oh, really? And what do you make of me?”

“I know you have this Steyatt week. I know that you have no qualms about who you mate with. And I know you only recently came into your wealth.”

He shrugged. “Stuff you could learn from the tabloids or from our engagements so far. If you want to hear the truth, I’m not much different from you.”

“Sure,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You have a palace. Servants. The similarities are endless.”

“I got lucky. I never knew my mother or grew up knowing my real heritage. But I was born poor, grew up poor, scraping by the skin of my horns.”

Okay, so I didn’t know that. “I didn’t grow up that poor. We always had food, a warm home, someone to love and care for me.”

“I did too.”

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