Page 14

“I'm to bathe alone?” Kaspian snarled as if I had suggested he shave off his hair. “After we have been intimate?”

“Do you see the shower stall? It's not big enough for the both of us.” I waved toward the tub/shower combo. “If you were a normal-sized guy, maybe. But not with . . .” I moved my hand from the stall to circle wildly before him. “All of that .”

Kas smirked. “You are enamored of me.”

“Way to ruin the mood.” I turned around.

Before I could reach the bathroom door, Kaspian pulled me back, smacking me into his chest. His arms went around me and his head lowered, bringing his lips to my ear. “This pleases me because I am enamored of you.”

Hard. Instant hard-on. And it wasn't just his words. It was his breath on my ear. His voice. The way his hands gripped me with a strength and possessiveness that no one had ever shown me before. I liked an aggressive guy, but there had to be a balance. Aggressive, not arrogant. Kaspian's kingly attitude rubbed me the wrong way. But when he rubbed me right, he really rubbed. Like he was trying to pull a genie out of a lamp.

“I'll bet you say that to all the guys you sleep with on an alien planet.” I looked over my shoulder at him and smirked, as if his words hadn't affected me at all.

“I thought I was the alien?” He nuzzled me, then let me go.

“You are.” I turned to face him. “To me. But this world is alien to you. Isn't it?”

Kaspian looked around the little room. “It is similar in a lot of ways. But yes, mostly, it is different.”

“A hot shower will help.” I reached into the stall and turned the taps. “This one increases or decreases the heat. This one is for cold. You see? Then turn them all the way when—”

He laid his hand over mine, under the spray. “This is a similarity. I can operate the shower. But thank you.”

“Okay. Uh, shampoo for your hair. Conditioner, if you like. I assume you will since your hair is so silky. And soap for your, uh, body.”

“Conditioner.” Kas picked up the bottle and peered at it.

I took it and opened the lid. “This is for after you've cleansed your hair. Shampoo, rinse, then put some of this on your hair. Leave it while you wash your body, then rinse it out. It softens hair.”

“Softens?”

“Just try it.”

“All right.” He set it back and stripped.

I hurried out of the room before I started drooling.

With the door shut behind me, I could breathe easier. It was as if Kaspian was a fire himself, sucking up all the air while he threatened to burn my entire world.

“Fuck,” I muttered and walked away.

I took a single step before I heard him behind me. Kaspian had opened the door.

I turned back. “You okay?”

“Yes. I just prefer there not to be barriers between us.” With that, he returned to his shower.

Leaving me to gape after him.

The really weird part was how not-weird that felt. In fact, I wanted to go back in there and sit on the toilet while he bathed. Just to be near him. Ugh! How pathetic was that?

“Nope.” I determinedly walked away.

I knew I had the potential to be a clinger and a bit of a mother hen. Most guys didn't like that, and Kaspian struck me as a guy who would like it, but only because it stroked his ego. It would make him happy but less interested. Fuck, this was why I didn't date. Shit was complicated, and I usually screwed it up. And it seemed to be worse with Kaspian. As if all my squishy instincts were magnified.

One thought of his arrogant expression helped me push that shit down. I left the hallway and went into the kitchen to grab a soda. After gulping down the sugar, I felt a little better. The bite of the carbonation helped too. Carbs and carbonation, what a great combination. I went to grab another and realized I only had a few cans left.

Grimacing, I checked my phone. The delivery guy would be another thirty minutes. I could run to the grocery store and grab a few things. Nah. It'll take fifteen just to get there. I grabbed another can, then went to sit on the chair I had out on the front porch. I needed the fresh air, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could put distance between Kas and me without a problem.

“What the fuck?” I rubbed at my chest as I sat down. Something tensed there. Anxious. Every bone in my body wanted to go back inside. “Oh, this isn't good.” I leaned my head back against the chair and tried to think—really process. “He's from another world. So, what's the end game here? Am I supposed to help him get home? How would I do that?” I shook my head. “Oh, God help me. I don't want to do that.”

This shit was beyond me. I was harboring an illegal alien in the most literal sense of the words. But it wasn't as if there was a law stating that an American couldn't give an immigrant a place to stay. I mean, I guess if you saw Kas as an illegal immigrant—someone who had entered the country improperly, which, technically, he had—then, yeah, there were laws against that. But Kaspian wasn't that kind of alien. What was I supposed to do—turn him in to Mulder and Scully? No way. Those assholes weren't getting their hands on Kas if I could help it.

“Jesus.” I rubbed a hand over my face, wondering if I could actually go to jail for helping Kas. And then I realized it didn't matter. It was a done deal. I had lied to federal agents about him. There was no going back. The relief that came with that thought was shocking. “It has nothing to do with how good he is in bed.”

“Demetrius!” Kaspian's voice rumbled out of the house.

I jerked upright, nearly spilling my Coke, and cursed, “Son of a bitch!” Hurrying to my feet, I called out, “What's wrong?” I hurried inside and met him in the living room.

Kas was naked, dripping wet, and furious. He calmed a little when he saw me.

“Did you run out of hot water?” I asked.

“What?” His expression went baffled.

“Why did you shout?”

“Because I couldn't find you. I thought you left.” He pressed his lips together.

“You couldn't . . .” I blinked. “Are you fucking kidding me? I was on the porch. Go back into the shower. You're dripping water everywhere.”

Kas looked down at himself, then at me. Narrowing his eyes, he pointed at me. Right in my face. “Do not go far.”

“Get back in the fucking shower!”

“Uh, excuse me?”

I jerked around, startled by the sound of someone else's voice. It was the Doordash guy, with his cooler in hand, standing on the porch. Staring at us through the doorway. I had left the front door open in my haste to reach Kaspian. Shit.

“I'll just leave this—”

A snarling came from behind me, cutting him off.

I spun back toward Kaspian. He had his teeth bared, his stare locked on the poor delivery kid, and his hands curled like claws.

“Hey!” I snapped my fingers in front of Kaspian's face. “Cut that shit out!” Pushing Kas toward the hallway, I said to the kid, “Thanks, man! I tipped you on the app. Sorry about him. He's from Europe.” I made a face.

“Oh!” The guy grinned and nodded but also backed away. He set a bag down, a pink box tied atop it. “Sorry to startle you. Your door was open.”

“Yeah, my fault. Have a good one!”

“Thanks. You too.” He ran for the little Honda Civic he had left running in the driveway.

Meanwhile, I hurried to the porch, grabbed our food, and shut the front door. Then locked it. Then peered out the window and watched the guy drive off. Turning around, I was going to call out to Kas that the coast was clear. But he was standing right behind me. Glowering.

“Holy shit!” I jumped. “Don't do that!”

“That man coveted you.”

“He did what now?”

“He wants what's mine!” Kaspian, still naked, tried to step around me.

“Whoa!” I grabbed his arm. “That was the food delivery guy. Look!” I lifted the bag and box combo.

Sniffing, Kas turned away from the door. “He will not return?”

“No. Even if we order more food, it will be someone else who delivers it.”

Kaspian grunted, took the bag, and went to the couch.

“Don't you dare fucking sit your clean, wet ass on that old crappy couch!” I pointed at him.

Kaspian hesitated.

“You'll get the couch wet and your ass dirty. Trust me.” I took the bag back and motioned toward the hallway with it. “Get a towel and dry off.” As he headed for the bathroom, I thought better of my instructions and added, “And get dressed!”

“Stop giving me orders!”

“Well, stop doing stupid shit!”

Kaspian snarled and bared his teeth.

I pointed at him, just as he had with me. “Like that! Knock it off!”

“Knock what off of what?!” He waved his arms about. “I know your language and I still don't understand you! Humans of Earth are insane! You're all mad here!”

“Yeah, we are, Alice! And we like it that way!”

“Why are you shouting at me and who is Alice?!”

I cleared my throat and lowered my voice. “Because you shouted. Forget the Alice thing and go get dry before the food gets cold.”

Another grunt as he left.

With a sigh and a shake of my head, I sat down and set the bag on the coffee table. “Coveted me? What the fuck?” I untied the bag from the Crumbl box and set the box aside. “Whatever magic taught him English, it must have been using a dictionary from the Middle Ages.” I took the burgers and fries out, laid the fries on the bag, and then remembered my soda. “Shit.” I got up and retrieved it from the porch, then grabbed another for Kaspian from the fridge, along with the pitcher of cold water.

By the time I had the drinks on the coffee table, Kaspian was back.

“Take your pick.” I waved at the food. “I'm going to get some glasses for the water.”

“Thank you, Deme.”

“What the fuck did you just call me?”

“I'm trying to find a shortened version of your name that I like since you won't let me use your full name.” He made a face.

“Well, on Earth, the name Deme is a woman's name. Well, with an I at the end, but it sounds the same.”

“Dem?”

“As in, 'how do you like dem apples?' No.” I squished up my face and went into the kitchen.

“Again, I don't understand you.”

I chuckled as I grabbed the glasses. When I got back to the couch, he was chewing. And his annoyed expression had gone blissful.

“Dear Goddess!” Kaspian exclaimed. “What do you call this?” He lifted the cheeseburger.

“That is a bacon cheeseburger, my friend.” I sat down, poured us some water, then grabbed one for myself. “And these are called french fries.” I opened the little tub of ketchup they'd sent and showed him how to eat a fry. “Try one with ketchup.”

Kaspian followed my lead. As he chewed his eyes widened.

“Good, huh?” I took a bite of burger. “We love to fry things in America. It's one of our food groups—sugar.” I pointed at the open box of cookies. “Fried.” I grabbed more fries. “Unrecognizable meat.” I pointed at the cheeseburger with my fries. “And, let's see. Did I miss anything? Oh, yeah! Bread. We love bread here. But that's combined with the meat in this case.”

“I love this food!”

“Me too.” I grinned at him. “Tonight, we'll try pizza. You're gonna love that too.”

“I would like one of those confections now.” He pointed at the cookies.

“Eat your lunch first.” Then I winced. There I went, being a mother hen. “You know what? Forget I said that. We're grown-ups. We can have our dessert whenever we want.”

“Yes, we can, Metri.”

“Ugh! No. Just admit that Met is the best nickname for me.”

“Never!” He reached for a strawberry cheesecake cookie.

“Whoa now!” I stopped him. “We're sharing these. Sharing is caring. So, break it in half. And I'd recommend starting with that one.” I pointed at the peanut butter with Reese's pieces.

“That one does not look as appetizing as this pink-topped one with little bits on the frosting.”

“That is a strawberry cheesecake cookie. This one over here is peanut butter. And it's my favorite.”

“Did you just say cheese cake ?”

“Yes.”

He made a face and picked up the peanut butter. “I think you were right to warn me.”

As he broke it in half, I laughed my ass off.