Page 56 of Secretly Craved By My Monster Alien Boss

Three.

Two.

One.

The doors remained shut. Nazyn frowned. Where in the–

The doors swung open as Deryg appeared, carrying a large crate made out of dark red Deruzian wood. Yakirian had chosen him well as the head of security. Nazyn was tall, but Deryg was massive, his horns scraping the underside of the trees.

Then came Rynar, carrying his own crate, and talking to a human woman at least two heads shorter than him, even with those pointy shoes of hers that clicked relentlessly on the floor. They were closely followed by Zaryn, who looked around the exposition with a stern, calculating gaze.

Deryg grinned. His most trusted companions had come to his aid.

“Rumor around Alien Inc. is that you needed a special delivery.” Deryg placed the crate on the floor and rolled up his sleeves some more. Rynar and Zaryn preferred their perfectly tailored human suits. Deryg needed to move. He nodded at Darcy. “You must be Darcy. Kiara has told me all about you.”

“Good things, I hope,” Darcy said, a bit timid.

“The best. She likes you. Says you’re really smart.” Deryg then grinned at Nazyn. “Guess you’ve found your match.”

Nazyn’s hearts throbbed. Nines, he thought so, too. “No need for jealousy, Deryg. I will still visit your Domain at Alien Inc.”

The rest of the group gathered around them. The human female stepped forward. She looked vaguely familiar, with her long black hair and unforgiving stare. “Hello. I’m Alissia Adami, I’m a paralegal in the legal department. And I promised Rynar I would mention we were three seconds late because of me.”

“Wewere,” Rynar said.

“My heel got stuck between the gravel. And it’s a three second delay,” she retorted.

“Three seconds can mean the difference between life and death.”

“Calm down, cowboy, you’re not on Deruzia anymore. Nobody’s chopping off your head here,” she said. “Though it’s tempting sometimes.”

Instead of one of his quick retorts, Rynar just smiled, looking at her. Nazyn had a feeling a new human-Deruzian couple was in the making. Not that he and Darcy were officially a couple. Yet. But Nazyn was nothing if not hopeful. He was a scientist, after all. Darcy had said so.

She eyed the crates quickly piling up around them. “That is a lot of stuff.”

“Only the best from Deruzia.” Deryg draped a massive hand over Nazyn’s shoulders, a gesture reserved only for the closest of friends, and whispered in his ear, “Kiara told me to send a message: take care of Darcy.”

“I plan on doing just that,” Nazyn said.

“I’m happy for you,” Deryg said and let him go.

“I’ve calculated the allotted time.” Zaryn stared at the crates. “If we only have two minutes to set up, Deryg should go first and lay the foundation, he’s the strongest.”

“Hey, we all graduated from the same Academy,” Rynar said.

“Yes, that’s how I know he is the strongest,” Zaryn went on, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you well.” Deryg grinned at Rynar, before turning to Alissia. “He’s quite strong, too. And that tongue of his–”

“That’s enough,” Rynar barked.

“I was merely pointing out your communication skills. You are Alien Inc.’s best lawyer, yes?”

As much as Nazyn was enjoying this little spectacle between his companions, grateful for their help and arrival, they were drawing too much attention.

From somewhere to the left, he heard Tobias say, “Nobody would care if they weren’t aliens.”

“Tobias, Iwillrestart our feud if you keep that up,” Elias said. “You’ve been my archnemesis for fifty years, you can become one again.”

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