Page 11

Elsie

I ’m draped over Aruan’s naked lap with my ankles crossed behind his back while he holds me in a possessive embrace.

My skin is flushed with heat, and my inner muscles ache deep inside.

His cum covers my breasts and my stomach, making me sticky all over, yet I can’t bring myself to move.

Instead, I lean my head on his shoulder and soak up the welcome heat of his body.

I can’t believe how quickly I fell back into his bed.

My eagerness should appall me. Where is my self-preservation and control?

Every time he touches me, my mind recedes to a distant corner of my being, and my body takes over my actions.

Yes, I promised I wouldn’t deny him—not that this strange, unignorable physical attraction makes a shred of resistance possible.

However, this time, I took things much further than not resisting him.

He initiated the kiss, but I instigated the rest. I just couldn’t help myself.

I simply had to taste him. How can I fight the urge when that switch between my logical mind and my traitorous body is flipped every time he strips naked?

He’s built like a gladiator. A girl has to be blind not to appreciate his hard-cut perfection, and he’s not making it easy for me to put up my defenses. He knows exactly how he affects me.

Of course, the sex was hot. I liked what we did.

A lot. But even now as he’s holding me in the warmth of his strong arms, coldness bleeds into the gaping hole that rips into my heart.

Despite the warm, fuzzy orgasmic afterglow that leaves me lethargic with a delicious feeling of utter relaxation, I can’t ignore the bitter disappointment that reflects inside me.

The feeling isn’t my own but my so-called mate’s.

He kisses my neck and untangles himself from me gently. “Shall we get cleaned up? As much as I regret leaving my bed when I have you in it, an important matter is awaiting our attention.”

That matter would be the humans we brought with us. Yes, I understand, but I still don’t like it when he severs our physical contact and gets off the bed. As before, I feel colder and emptier without him.

He offers me a hand and helps me to my feet before leading me to the cleansing room. After draining the water in the pool and letting it auto-clean, he fills it with fresh water that he heats with his mind while testing the temperature by dipping his hand inside.

We’re quiet as he takes care of me by washing my hair and my body.

He’s exceptionally gentle. Yet wherever he trails his hands over my skin, no matter how innocent the touch, he rekindles the lust that refuses to abate.

If he picks up on the quickening of my breathing and the acceleration of my heartbeat, he doesn’t acknowledge it, so I bite my lip and force myself to ignore the tormenting need already building in my core again.

After washing himself quickly, he pauses for a moment, watching me with a serious light in his mercury-colored eyes.

I swallow as I take in his devastatingly handsome face. I’ll never grow used to how beautiful he is. Every time I see him is like the first time all over.

“What?” I ask after a couple of seconds, his intense stare making me self-conscious.

He sits on the bench and leans against the side. Drops of water roll off his chiseled chest, drawing a stunning picture of pure, unadulterated male virility.

He drags his hands over his wet hair, brushing the dark strands back without breaking our eye contact. “What were you going to do after flying off from here, Elsie?”

I have no reason to lie about what my intentions were. “I was going to find a way to go back to Earth.”

He pins me with a dark look. “How?”

I take a seat on the opposite bench so that my breasts are submerged under the water. Being naked makes me feel more vulnerable, especially while having this conversation.

“At first, I just flew. I have no idea for how long or how far Betty and I went, but eventually, I recognized the lake where you intervened when the Phaelix had taken me. Then I saw smoke and followed it to a Phaelix settlement. I reckoned as they’d brought me to Zerra, they’d be able to take me back to Earth. But then I saw the human slaves.”

“Let me guess.” His voice is devoid of emotion, but I can feel his anger. “You decided to free them.”

“I couldn’t just leave them.”

He inhales with flaring nostrils, taking a moment before continuing. “What happened then?”

“I brought in the prawns that chopped the Phaelix into small pieces.” I shudder at the memory.

“And then the Phaelix descended from the trees and caught me unawares. Next thing I knew, I woke up in a prison cell. The following morning, they took us to the slave market, and then you arrived on the scene.”

He leans over and grips my chin between a thumb and a forefinger. “Taking the Phaelix on alone was an unwise and dangerous thing to do.”

“I handled it, didn’t I?” At the look of calculation that comes over his face, I add, “Although I admit I shouldn’t have been so quick to lower my guard.”

“You’re never to take such a risk again.” His gaze drills into mine. “Do you have any idea what could’ve happened to you?”

I want to argue, but I remember the last thought that went through my mind at the slave market only too well. When I realized I’d been sold, all I wanted was to be back here in the safety of Aruan’s arms. More than that, I missed Aruan. I just didn’t want to admit that to myself at the time.

“Did I make myself clear?” he asks, his eyes tightening in the corners.

I promised not to resist his advances and to do my best to please him in bed, which I did just a few minutes ago.

Although, honestly, I was doing that more for my own pleasure than for his, seeing that my knees go weak whenever his clothes come off, and I can’t seem to help myself.

I even promised that I’d stay where Aruan believes I belong—in his bed.

But I never said I wouldn’t try to escape again, and I’m not going to lie to him.

For some reason, I can’t bring myself to do that.

The thought of deceiving him hurts me. My stupid weakness for this man won’t allow me to do anything that will cause him concern or pain.

Which is really inconvenient because escaping will do just that.

Shit, I’m so fucked.

He loosens his grip on my chin and traces my jaw with his thumb. “Why are you running so hard from a destiny neither of us can change?”

“I was angry,” I admit. “I felt cheated, as if I didn’t have a choice because of the damn mating heat.”

Letting me go, he gives me a strangely sympathetic look. “We don’t have a choice. Nature decided for us. How we deal with it is up to us. I told you already, you don’t have to make this difficult for yourself.”

“I didn’t like the way you treated me.”

“It won’t happen again.”

“But you’re still disappointed.”

“Not in you or in our physical bonding.”

The tightness in my chest gives a little. So he didn’t hate the sex. In that case… “You really want our bond to be complete, don’t you?”

He doesn’t reply, which makes me realize something.

“You think it’s my fault,” I say, watching him intently.

“I don’t know why our mating is unsuccessful. To the best of my knowledge, a similar case doesn’t exist.” His expression turns blank. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing will change the fact that we’re mates.”

But it does matter. It matters to him. He can’t hide that from me, regardless of how hard he’s trying.

He stands and holds out his hand. “We’d better go see how your friends are doing.”

Ashamed that I didn’t give them even a fleeting thought while my brain was drugged with lust, I put my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet.

He leads me to a bench where bath sheets and clothes are put out and uses one of the sheets to pat me dry.

I wonder why he doesn’t just use an evaporation trick.

I suspect it’s just an excuse to touch me, but I’m not complaining.

His broad, warm palms on my body are soothing, and the subtle vibration of his power that’s like a static hum in the air calms me.

When we’ve dressed—I in a pale-yellow gown with matching slippers and Aruan in a white tunic with black pants—he guides me to the room adjoining to his bedroom.

Food has been set out on the table next to the window. Someone must’ve brought it while we were dressing.

“Shouldn’t we go check on Karl and the women first?” I ask.

“Kian is taking care of them. I can feel your hunger, mate. Filling your empty stomach is more important.” He takes my hands and kisses them before ushering me into a chair.

“I beg your forgiveness for my negligence. I should’ve fed you before attending to other needs.

” His smile is wolfish. “I tend to get sidetracked when you’re naked in my bed. ”

The heat in my cheeks is more from self-loathing than embarrassment. That makes two of us.

Admittedly, I’m starving, and when I take in the food, gratitude warms my chest. Aruan made sure all my favorite dishes were served.

My stomach growls. Now that I’m no longer nauseated from the concussion, my hunger has returned with a vengeance.

He pulls closer a small box decorated with shiny shells that sits on the corner of the table. Curious, I watch as he flips back the lid to reveal a necklace with a silver chain and a glowing red oval stone pendant. He lifts the necklace from the box and moves behind me to fasten it around my neck.

I’m not a jewelry kind of girl, but the fact that Aruan is the bearer of the gift makes the gesture seem hot. Suddenly, I understand why some women find it romantic when guys give them bling.

Surprised and touched, I lay a hand over the pendant that lies just below the hollow of my throat. “You got me a gift?”

He comes around the table and takes the seat opposite me. “It’s more of a practicality, but now that I know you like gifts, I’ll rectify that neglect on my side too.”