Page 31 of Loved By the Alien King
Just like last time he was pissed at Mike, he kept going and slid my feet backward in the sand. Only this time, I was wearing stilettos instead of military boots.
Fun fact—stilettos don’t slide in sand; they dig in with their spiky heels and then snap off.
My broken shoes flew one way. I flew the other, sailing backward until two big, scaled arms scooped me right out of the air before my ass hit the sand.
“Would you believe me if I said my middle name was Grace?” I asked, flinging my arms around his neck.
“I would, actually.” Smiling, he kissed the tip of my nose and set me on my feet again. “Are you all right?”
“Fine, unless Oreo is watching us?” I glanced down at the busted heels and wondered if tree sap might glue them back together, but Oreo might kill me twice for that.
Maxx gazed over my head. “She’s not.”
“Good. Crisis averted for now.”
Both of them, it seemed. My accidental distraction had proved successful. Maxx was once again not going to kill my ex-husband.
But of course he wasn’t finished thinking about it.
“Sperm donor or not, Nera, what kind of grown man blames an intergalactic war on his ex-wife with a cowardly note? He knowsdamnwell what caused the Faid War. Your Lucy was his daughter too, so he didn’t just forget. He knew that it would be read on a TV show to broadcast that fake news and to change the whole narrative of the war. Now why would he do that?”
“I… I don’t…” I shook my head at the cliffside beacon, peeling back only certain memories of the night Lucy died.
Like Mike’s face. Nothing about that night could be forgotten, not even by him.
“Nera,” Maxx said gently, cradling my cheeks.
I didn’t even realize how chilly I’d become until the warmth from his palms fused to my skin, penetrated my bones, and chased away a brutally cold shiver. His violet gaze claimed mine, the lightning bolts within two powerful anchors that would help keep me from drifting too far into that night.
“You keep looking up at the cliff.” His fingertips caught a few stray tears and smoothed them away. “Did you go up there?”
I nodded. “Rain is there.”
He sucked in a breath, his eyes widening. “What? Did you talk to her? What did she say? What did you do?”
“I-I tried to kill her.” I shrugged, super casual because the whole thing still felt like a dream. “We talked in circles for a while. She turned off the static in my head that was interference for the trackers Mike inserted in my ears. She also showed me proof that if I find out the truth, whatever that may be, I will be a problem. Why? I don’t know. I left before I could hear the truth because I… Well, it turns out I was too afraid to listen to her anymore, but I…but I…”
“Oh goddess, Nera.” He wrapped me up in his arms and exhaled loudly, like he was deflating underneath the pressure of my word salad. “I can’t imagine what that was like for you to see her again.”
I couldn’t either, which was why I still felt so numb about it, but his acknowledgement to that fact burned more tears out and melted me into him even more.
“Do you want to go back there?” he asked gently. “Do you want to hear more?”
“No, but also very much yes,” I finally decided and nestled even closer into the comfort of his chest. “I hope that clears everything up for you.”
“It does,” he whispered, rubbing the center of my back. “Do you want me to go with you? Would that make it harder or easier?”
That he’d even offer swelled my heart so much for him that it ached. He was so giving, so selfless, and I loved him even more for it. How that was possible, I had no idea, but the alien warrior king had fought his way past my defenses and now owned me, heart, body, and soul.
“Easier,” I breathed into his scales. “Everything with you is always easier. You’re saying all the right things to me. I just want you to know that.”
He smoothed his hand over my hair and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “I would do anything for you. You know that.”
“I do. And I would do anything for you.” I pulled back and slipped my hand into his, struck with an idea. “Follow me.”
“Are you taking me to see your ex? Because I don’t think I have enough machetes.”
Somehow, a laugh tripped out of my tear-choked throat. “This will be better than seeing my ex, I promise. I figure we have about five minutes.”
