Page 6 of Taming the Alien Outlaw (Brides of the Bohnari #2)

Janik

The flush of color on Olivia’s cheeks tells me she’s not entirely unaffected by my words. I know it’s not the tavese, because she has yet to take a drink.

“Don’t even think about it,” she warns.

“Think about what?”

“You know what,” Olivia sputters.

“Clearly I don’t, since I am asking.” It is harder than I imagined maintaining what I hope is an innocent expression.

“You’re infuriating.” She downs the entire glass before I can caution her of its potency.

She did say for it to be made strong. Only a moment passes before her mouth twists and she scrunches her eyes closed.

She chokes out a sound. “Holy shit, what did you put in this? This is my punishment isn’t it? You’re trying to kill me.”

She continues coughing and gagging for several more minutes before finally recovering. I rein in my amusement the whole time, but I’m apparently not as skilled at hiding it as I’d hoped because Olivia glares.

“If you had waited a moment longer, I could have told you it is a drink meant to be sipped. It is also an acquired taste.”

“Fine, I’ll have another one, so I can acquire the taste.” She holds the empty glass out to me.

I take it from her, making sure my fingers brush against hers. She jerks her arm back and places her hand in her lap. I’m pleased to note she rubs the fingers I touched with the ones from her other hand.

“Are you sure you wish for a second?” I raise a brow.

“Make yourself one while you’re at it.” It’s almost a dare.

“Of course.”

I’m nearly finished pouring our drinks when someone knocks.

“I’ll get it,” Olivia offers, and moves to rise.

Since it’s only Ryvik arriving with food, I gesture for her to proceed. She goes to the door and opens it.

“Welcome to Prison a la Janik.” She steps back and sweeps her hand out in welcoming gesture.

I should have known better. Ryvik cautiously walks past her carrying a tray filled with covered dishes. His questioning gaze lands on me.

“Just place it on the counter.”

He complies and then makes a swift exit without a word.

“Was it something I said?” Olivia asks with manufactured concern.

“Here.” I hold out her refilled glass. At least the drink will give her something to keep her occupied.

She walks over and takes it from me, although she is careful our fingers don’t touch this time.

“Sip,” I remind her.

“Yeah, yeah.” Thankfully she listens. “So what kind of food did you order?”

While most of our supplies are stolen from shipments heading out of Preska, we have also begun growing a few things, like the lulesh trees. The fruit apparently thrives in this environment.

“There should be some meat as well as various cheeses, breads, and fruit to choose from.”

Without hesitation, Olivia removes the lid from the two platters and sets them aside. She puts something in her mouth and speaks around it.

“Not the feast I’d planned on having tonight thanks to you, but it’ll do.”

I take a sip of my drink. “I’ll give your compliments to the chef.”

If she can be sarcastic, then so can I.

“You do that.” Olivia sets her glass down on the tray, picks up the whole thing, and takes it over to the sofa with her. She places it on her lap and picks another item off one of the platters. She glances up at me.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m hungry and might as well be comfortable while I eat.”

I stride across the room and settle at the other end of the couch. “As my guest, you should make yourself at home.”

Olivia snort laughs but continues eating. “You keep saying guest like you’re trying to convince yourself that’s what I am, when we both know I’m nothing more than a prisoner. Just because you’re keeping me in a fancy cell and feeding me nice food doesn’t make it any less so.”

Perhaps she is right in that she is not entirely a guest, but now that she is under my roof I’m finding it hard to imagine her anywhere else.

The scent of her has been difficult to ignore.

My cock has been semi-hard since I scooped her up within Preska’s city limits.

I don’t anticipate that changing any time soon.

Not only that, but it’s taking every bit of self-control I have to keep the fever that’s burning inside me at a manageable level.

“Does that mean you are at my mercy, then? If you are a prisoner?”

Olivia releases a laugh. “Since I’m sure you’d like to keep your balls where they are, I’d put that thought right out of your mind.”

I raise a brow. “That is the second time you have threatened me with this punishment. Do you have an infatuation with my cock?”

“You wish,” she says, but her cheeks darken in color.

“As a matter of fact…” I let my words trail off.

Olivia shakes her head. “Not happening, Warden. You’re far too arrogant for me.”

“Did we not decide it is confidence I have?”

“Ha. Maybe you decided.”

“Maybe I did.”

We settle into a surprisingly comfortable silence while sipping our drinks. The only sound is from each bite Olivia takes. At last she glances over at me.

“Sorry, I’ve sort of commandeered all the food. Did you want any?”

“I am fine, thank you.”

She shrugs and returns to eating as if it’s of no consequence whether I chose to indulge or not. She takes another sip of her tavese and shudders.

“This stuff still tastes like shit. I doubt I’m going to acquire a taste for it.” Yet, she continues drinking.

“You don’t have to finish it merely to be polite.”

Olivia stares at me. “Do I strike you as a person who fakes being polite?”

No, she doesn’t. “By all means, continue.”

She makes a strange noise that causes her body to jerk. Her laugh that follows strikes me in the gut. It is the first one that sounds genuine. There’s no bitter note to it, only true amusement.

“I think I might be a little drunk. Huh, so this is what it feels like,” Olivia muses with a glassy hue to her dark eyes.

“You have never been intoxicated before?”

She shakes her head. “Nope.” The word ends on a popping sound. “We couldn’t afford booze in the bottom tier. And most of us didn’t want to risk getting caught with illegal hooch.”

The spies I have within Horek’s guards mentioned the human females being from something called the bottom tier.

It is, from my understanding, the poorest residents of their planet.

Ones who do not have real food, but rather eat protein bars.

They also rarely have enough credits to pay for other living essentials like a place to live. “How did you survive?”

Olivia’s gaze clears slightly as she looks at me. “Not having hooch?”

“No. This bottom tier where you came from.”

“What else were we going to do? Roll over and die? I mean, I’m sure those in the upper tier would have liked that, but fuck them if they thought I’d give them the satisfaction.”

“You’re a surviver.”

Olivia chuckles and downs the rest of her tavese. “More like stubborn bitch.”

One who is going to wake up with an aching head, no doubt.

She picks up a piece of flakis and wags it at me. “This is the best meat I’ve had. What is it?”

“Flakis.”

“Such an alien name.” Olivia giggles and pops it into her mouth. “Speaking of names. How did you know mine? I certainly didn’t tell you.”

“I had one of my lackeys—as you called them—find out for me.”

“When?” she asks around the food she’s chewing.

“When, what?”

“When did you ask your lackey to get it?”

Ah. “Right after you threatened to knee me in the sac the first time.”

Olivia crinkles her face. “That was almost a month ago. Moon cycle. Whatever you call it here.”

“Yes.”

She cocks her head slightly and stares intently at me. “I don’t understand you.”

It is my turn to laugh. “What’s there to understand?”

“You’re just not what I expected is all.”

“What were you expecting?” No doubt Olivia’s heard any number of stories about me and the other rebels from those under Alik’s rule. Especially since this friend of hers is mated to Commander Horek.

“I already knew you were arrogant.”

“Confident,” I remind her with a grin.

“ Arrogant . But you also have a pet wolf who seems to really like you, although I have no idea why. You’re also not as…murder-y as I assumed you to be.”

It would appear that no matter how many times I say otherwise, Olivia won’t believe I’m not a murderer.

“You sound almost disappointed.”

She flails her arm around and nearly knocks the tray off her lap. “I am. You’re easy to dislike knowing you killed Konek.”

“What happens when you find out I didn’t kill him? Yes, yes, I know.” I wave off her interruption. “Just for the point of this interesting conversation, let’s say I’m innocent. How will you feel about me then?”

Olivia’s lips pucker and she scrunches her nose. I shouldn’t have agreed to give her the second glass of tavese. Especially when she slurs slightly.

“I don’t know. You are leading a rebellion against the prince, after all. Granted, I don’t know all the potilics—potlicks—politics, damn it—on Bohna.” Olivia snorts. “Bohna. Boner. Boner. Bohna. Wait, what was I talking about again?”

I press my lips together to smother my amusement. “Bohnari politics.”

“Oh, yeah. I don’t know about them, but Alik doesn’t seem like such a bad guy. He makes sure you and the other rebels get that snorty drug so you don’t go bazooka. Bazooka? Whatever. You know what I mean.”

Any amusement I feel quickly fades.“Except he doesn’t.” I shouldn’t be speaking of any of this to her, but it’s clear she already knows more than she should. Alik should take better care of who’s listening in on his conversations.

“He doesn’t what?”

I shift my attention back to Olivia. The tray tips off her lap and I snag it before it tumbles to the floor.

“Alik has everyone on Bohna believing he provides the entire planet with kanet powder. Only it’s a lie.

He’s intentionally withholding enough from us that we’re barely surviving.

Already this moon cycle I’ve had to destroy two more of my people.

” My heart aches at the loss. “Alik doesn’t need to go to war with us. He’ll kill us just the same.”

A soft snore comes from Olivia. Her eyes have fully shut and her mouth hangs partially open.

I gently pluck the empty glass from her hand and set it on the tray before carrying it into the kitchen.

I’ll have someone get it in the morning.

Taking care not to wake her, I lift her into my arms and stride into the bedroom.

Her breath caresses the flesh of my neck and sends a shudder of desire racing through me.

The mating fever burns in my veins, growing hotter the longer I hold Olivia.

I place her on the bed and she mumbles something in her sleep.

For several moments I stare down at her, soaking in her beauty and wishing things were different.

I cover her with a blanket, take one last look, and leave her in peace.