Page 29 of Alien Jeopardy
From a small slit between Rex’s wings, I can still make out Poppy and her red-hued guy, as well as the Roth from the spaceship.
The announcer, I presume.
Selene isn’t here, or her Draegon alien, and I frown, worry for the pair of them rushing through me. Did they not make it in time? Are they okay?
Surely nothing too serious could have happened to delay them; this is reality TV, not an actual survival situation… right? I mean, I can’t shake the feeling that this whole planet, er moon, er place is weird, but that’s probably because it’s just not Earth.
The questions running through my head stop suddenly, my breath hitching as Rex sets me down. My pajama shirt wriggles loose and falls over the top of his hand— qhich means his palm is on my bare skin.
Oh, yum.
Whimpering, I squeeze my upper thighs together. Good grief, why did I have to wear pajama shorts? If I get any wetter, it’s going to slide down my legs for the whole universe to see.
Rex tilts his head, and I swallow hard, seeing him assess me from the corner of my eye.
Even from this angle, his lips look ridiculously kissable. My eyes go wide, and I squirm slightly, only to force myself to stifle another moan as his hand presses into the curve of my stomach. Normally, I’d be sucking it in and trying to make sure that whoever was touching me didn’t think about how long it had been since I’d done any sort of core workout.
In Rex’s arms, though? I simply don’t care what he thinks about my soft midsection. Based on the way he feels against me, he doesn’t mind at all—nah, the opposite seems to be true.
He likes my squishy, imperfect middle.
A bubble of warmth that has nothing to do with lust goes through my chest. He likes the way I look and feel. Mating heat or not, that’s a pretty damned nice feeling.
It sure as heck would be nice to have a man who loves all my imperfections instead of one who constantly sees my body as their own personal fitness coaching challenge.
Emotion tightens my throat, unbidden tears stinging my eyes.
I dash them away with the back of my hand.
“Hormones,” I tell myself. It’s gotta be the mating heat making me all squishy and soft towards him. That’s all this is.
“Oh my god, you two are okay.” Lily stumbles onto the stage.
I push Rex’s wing aside a little, and though he gives a rumbling growl of displeasure, he allows me more room to look at my friend. A purplish scarred Draegon with silvery-white hair storms after her, leaves and sticks falling out of Lily’s hair like she’s been tumbling around on the ground. Her knees are skinned too, dried blood crusting her shins.
“What happened to you?” I ask, taken aback.
Her gaze drops, and she rakes her fingers through her short, wavy black hair. Another leaf falls out, and she glares at it.
“I fell,” she says.
My eyes narrow. “Uh-huh.”
“Thank fuck this is the translator challenge,” Lily does her best to ignore the alien dragon staring at her with open desire. “Not being able to talk to this dude is driving me fucking nuts.”
“You’re on TV,” Poppy tells her in a scandalized voice. “Watch your mouth.”
“Don’t even fucking start with me, Poppy,” Lily tells her, pure venom in her tone. The Draegon alien tailing her gives Poppy an unfriendly look, his biceps bulging as he reaches for Lily, who manages to slither from his grasp.
“Hi, you guys,” Lucy says, all sunshine and cheer as her Draegon alien bridal-carries her up the stairs. “These guys are handy to have around, huh?”
“More like handsy,” Lily mutters, casting a dark look at the male next to her. He bares his fangs at her, tail lashing behind him, and she rolls her eyes. “Knock it off, loser.”
Rex chuckles behind me, and I guess he doesn’t need a translator to pick up on her disdain and her partner’s—no, mate’s—annoyance.
It hits me then. I don’t feel disdainful of Ka-Rexsh, not at all. Worried and anxious about being in heat, yes. But he’s been kind, and helpful, and being able to communicate is definitely what we need if we’re going to make it to the end and win.
Not to mention it will help us lay some ground rules about, er, touching.
