Page 61 of Secretly Mated To My Monster Alien Boss
Kiara melted in his arms, all the fatigue and fright from the past few hours melting away. In his arms, she was safe.
The kiss ended far too soon.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Deryg whispered. “And I’m glad you’re here.”
With words like that, how could she concentrate on anything else other than how lucky she was? A curious thought since she almost got killed tonight, her palm was mangled, the tips of her hair were singed, her skin hurt from the heat in the lab, and she smelled like a forest fire.
But she was very lucky.
She’d survived and was standing in Deryg’s apartment. The real Deryg’s Domain.
The tranquility of his home flowed into the bathroom as well. Just as bare, it had a sink, a mirror, and a huge bathtub embedded right into the floor. It filled up almost instantly with lavender-scented bubbles.
As Kiara submerged herself in the hot water and the bubbles popped right next to her ears, every little ache she’d tried so hard to ignore until now came back with a vengeance. Her body wasn’t used to this. Hell, the last time she actually ran for anything other than a work emergency was maybe a jog two years ago. She had scrapes and blisters in places she’d never thought possible. Underneath her big toe? Really? The cut on her palm stung to the point where Kiara had to raise it above the water and blow on it to help ease some of the ache.
But all these little pains meant she was alive, despite all the odds.
She sunk into the bath, reveling in the luxurious feel of the hot marble against her back, letting the water soothe her body and mind.
Once the adrenaline completely left her body, she scrubbed every inch of skin. With each swipe of her palms, she let all her worries wash off. The fear and uncertainty. The smoke. The screams. The guns. The metal rattle down the halls, which would probably haunt her for the rest of her life.
But for now, she was happy. She’d been tossed–literally–into an impossible situation and she’d conquered it.
She’d found an escape route.
She’d given orders.
Devised a plan to protect herself and others. She was good at planning parties–and escapes, too, apparently.
Yesterday’s Kiara had been concerned that the delivery men didn’t listen to her. The Kiara that looked at her wet hair in the foggy mirror right now was stronger. She was a survivor.
The water in the bathtub drained along with tonight’s terror. Kiara had let a lot of things cling to her along the years–her mom’s comments, her own insecurity–but no more.
She slipped into Deryg’s robe, reveling in the soft touch. This fabric must have been made of silk and clouds.
She wandered back out into the bedroom, a haze of lavender steam behind her. But Deryg’s wasn’t there.
Curious, she wandered back out into the living room.
Her heart jumped when she saw him sitting on the couch, rubbing a cloth against his shoulder.
Between the absolute joy of seeing Deryg again and the chaos of rounding up the robots and being interrogated by the police, she’d forgotten about the sudden pain she’d felt when they’d put out the fire.
As instantly as it had appeared, the pain had vanished. She hadn’t seen any bruise or cut in that spot–the exact same one Deryg was gently rubbing now.
Kiara touched her own shoulder.
“That’s weird,” she muttered.
Deryg looked up, a grin on his face. “You’re gorgeous.”
Kiara tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear. Damn him, he could make her blush in two seconds or less.
“Sweet talker.” She came closer, stopping right in front of him as she gazed down at his shoulder. The gash was ugly; the edges were seared black. He must’ve been shot with the same bullet as Leyra. “I think–I think I felt it when you got shot. Like someone had shot me.”
Deryg’s brows rose. He opened his mouth a few times before he finally said, “That’s not as weird as you think.”
“Do Deruzians just feel each others’ pain?”
