Page 83 of Alien Jeopardy

Everything about him feels good, feels right, and the desire welling inside me comes as a slight surprise.

“I like you,” I tell him, running a thumb over his temple, then tracing the base of one of his horns.

“And I like you, Ellison of Earth,” he says, so serious that it makes my heart stutter. His tail wraps around just beneath my knees, and he cradles my head and tilts it back, like he’s going to dip and kiss me.

He dunks me under the water before I can so much as swoon, and I come up laughing and sputtering.

“That was not nice,” I say to him, but I’m cackling, which minimizes the impact of my words considerably.

“Just wanted to make sure you were ready to be soaped,” he says easily, grabbing one of the stone canisters that line the edge of the tub.

I hadn’t even noticed them.

He scoops out a dollop of herb-scented cream, then plops it on my head.

“Hey, I can do that—” My words are cut off by a low moan.

“I know you can,” he says with a laugh. “But isn’t this much more fun?”

My eyes nearly cross as he massages the stuff into my hair, the tips of his talons scraping deliciously along my scalp.

“I can agree with that,” I finally answer.

“Mmmm, I thought you might,” he says, continuing to soap me all over.

When he sets me on the edge of the tub, spreading my legs apart, I’m as limp as a fresh noodle from the insta-pantry from the massage and the heat of the water.

“Am I allowed to have a taste?” he asks, an eyebrow arched.

“Only if I get to hold your horns like handlebars.” I wink.

He tips his head back and laughs, pushing my thighs apart. “That is a very specific request.”

“I’m just trying to live my fanfic heroine dreams,” I tell him, grinning.

Has it ever been this fun with a partner? Have I ever made another man laugh, have I ever wanted to?

I’m not sure.

And when he sets his tongue between my legs, I might just forget my entire name.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-NINE

Ellison

The next day comes too early.

I’m sore.

Sore from the athletic requirements of the previous day’s trials, and sore from Ka-Rexsh’s bedroom skills, too.

Not in a bad way, though—it’s a sort of delicious tenderness that reminds me I had a really good time with him.

A really, really good time with him.

“You’re smiling,” he says. His lips brush against mine, his fang snagging on my bottom lip, followed by his tongue lapping at the spot. “Does that mean you’re happy? You did not give me your high five last night, so I wasn’t sure if I had earned it well enough.”