Page 47 of Tempted By the Alien Warrior

The rich, savory aroma of the roasting iasciis wraps around us as night settles in. Emily shifts closer, just enough for her shoulder to press lightly against mine. She doesn’t move away. Neither do I. The contact is small, barely there, but it sends a flicker of awareness through me. It feels as if my body is suddenly more tuned to hers, alert to every breath she takes and the small bit of space between us.

Finally, when the iasciis’ outer skin is crispy, I wrap a portion in a broad leaf and offer it to her. Emily accepts it withouthesitation. She takes a bite, then lets out a soft, pleased hum that vibrates straight through my body.

“Oh wow,” she murmurs around another mouthful. “This is so good. Way better than trail mix.”

She chews thoughtfully, then tilts her head, eyeing the vibrant pink meat in her hand. “You know, it kinda tastes like catfish. Our grandparents had a pond on their farm, and me and Lily used to go fishing in it. We'd catch a whole mess of catfish.”

Her smile softens and her eyes take on a distant expression as if she’s looking into the past. “We’d haul them back to the house, and Grandma would fry them up for us. Me and Lily would dance around the kitchen, sneaking bites as soon as she took them out of the oil.”

She lets out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “Funny thing was, Lily wasn’t afraid of anything else. She’d climb trees, race four wheelers through the woods, you name it, without a second thought. She even rode our grandpa’s billy goat, Erasmus, one time. But catfish? She'd stand ten feet back and make me unhook them. She always said they looked like aliens.” Emily glances at me, her eyes twinkling with humor. “Maybe she was right.”

The affection in her voice wraps around me and sinks its fangs deep. I’ve heard her speak of Lily before, but not like this. Not with this mix of fondness and heartache.

I don’t know much about her cousin, only that she was taken by an anuroi. But suddenly, I wish I did. I wish I knew everything about Emily. About her life on Earth. Who she was before all this. And more than anything, I wish I could give her cousin back to her right now.

Emily pops another bite into her mouth, and the soft, low sound she makes goes straight to my cock, making it twitch behind my loincloth.

“All we need now is some hushpuppies and coleslaw, and we’d be set,” she says, her voice light.

I frown. The words make no sense.

She catches my expression and grins. “Yeah, I know. That probably sounded crazy. And no, I don’t mean ‘quiet baby animals.’ Hushpuppies are deep-fried balls of cornmeal. Trust me, you’d love them.”

Shifting closer, Emily ticks each word off on her fingers, like she’s counting the ways she’s confusing me. “Trail mix. Catfish. Hushpuppies. Coleslaw. Cornmeal…” She trails off, and amusement dances in her eyes. “Your poor translator chip is probably curled up crying.”

A sharp snort bursts out of me before I can stop it.

Emily's head snaps toward me, her whole face lighting up. “Was that almost a laugh?” she teases. “Vrok, I think it was.”

I shake my head, but the warmth she put there lingers, spreading like a slow fire in my spirit.

I don’t know how she does it. How she reaches right through all my defenses without even trying. She looks at me like I’m good. Like I matter. And sard me, I want to be the male she sees when she looks at me.

I want to tear down every wall I’ve built and let her in completely. I want her. I want her to make those soft little noises against my mouth again. I want to feel her hands running over my skin. And I want to know what it would feel like to have her lush thighs wrapped around me.

And goddesses help me, I want it now.

She polishes off the last bite on her leaf, then licks her fingers clean. My eyes lock onto the tip of her pink tongue as it swipes out. My body goes tight, every muscle drawn taut with need. Memories crash into me. The feel of that same smooth tongue tangling with mine, leaving me half-wild with wanting. A lowgroan scrapes the back of my throat, but I choke it down before it can escape.

Sard, she has no idea what she does to me.

Before I can say or do anything reckless, she leans back on her hands with a little sigh, tipping her face up to the darkened sky. Her golden hair spills loosely over her shoulders.

“I can’t stop thinking about her,” she says, her voice softer now, threading into the hush between us. Her eyes stay fixed on the stars twinkling far above us. “I keep wondering if she’s okay. If she’s scared. If she’s looking up at the same stars I am.”

Something cracks open inside me at her words. I should say something. Reach for her. Instead, I stay frozen, swallowing down a surge of emotion so fierce it terrifies me. But I don't trust myself to speak.

All I can think is that if I could, I’d rip the stars from the sky and lay them at her feet. I’d tear the whole of Laedirissae apart just to bring her cousin back. I’d do anything—anything—to keep that look of sorrow from her face.

But I don’t move. I just watch her. Because I know she deserves more than a male who’s already broken.

“She must’ve been terrified,” Emily says, her gaze dropping to the fire.

“You’re doing everything you can to bring her back,” I say quietly. “Your cousin is fortunate to have someone who refuses to give up.”

Emily’s gaze lifts to meet mine. Her eyes are shimmering with unshed tears. “I’m not so sure about that,” she murmurs. “I feel like I’ve already failed her. I was supposed to keep her safe.”

She huffs out a humorless laugh. “We’re the same age. Well, I’m a few months older. And somehow that always made me feel like I had to be the responsible one. Lily was the wild child, always dragging me along behind her. I let her lead, and I followed. Even when I knew better.”

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