Page 19 of Claimed By the Alien Assassin
The words should feel foreign in my mouth, but they don’t. They settle into the space between us, heavy and sharp-edged. I don’t care who hears. I don’t care what it costs.
She takes a step toward me. Not cautious. Not testing.
Sure.
“You’re not a general,” she says, like she’s confirming a fact I never offered. “You’re not a leader.”
“No.”
“You’re not a savior.”
I shake my head slowly. “Not even close.”
“But you’rehere.” Her voice cracks. “You stayed.”
I reach out before I know I’m doing it. Fingers grazing her cheek, down the line of her jaw. Her skin is warm—so warm—like her whole body’s on fire with whatever madness keeps her moving.
She doesn’t pull away.
“You stayed,” she repeats, softer this time, almost reverent.
I lean in, forehead brushing hers for a heartbeat.
“You make it hard to leave.”
A beat.
Then another.
Her breath hits my mouth—sweet and ragged.
And then she exhales. “Okay.”
I blink. “Okay?”
“That’s all I needed,” she says. “Just someone who won’t vanish the second it gets messy.”
I almost laugh. “I don’t vanish. I erase.”
“Well,” she says, stepping back, “I’m asking you towritesomething this time.”
I stare at her, letting the words settle like gravity dust.
Maybe I’m not the monster I used to be.
Maybe with her, I’m something else.
CHAPTER 5
JOSIE
He said yes.
I’m still not over it. Hell, I’m stillwaitingfor him to vanish like a hallucination brought on by oxygen deprivation and too many nights trying to sleep in a bed that smells like motor oil and shame. But Dayn’s still here. Solid, dark, unreadable—except for those moments when his eyes go soft and sharp all at once, like he’s watching something precious about to break.
He’s here.
And that changes everything.
