Page 42 of Loved By the Alien King
I ripped the lid off of mine and found a black envelope lying at the bottom with the wordsYou’re Invitedwritten elegantly across it.
“Ohhh, invited to what?” June asked, blinking her one eye down into the box.
“Pete, did you give us all the same present?” I demanded.
He threw his head back and laughed like a maniac.
“All that pressure for nothing,” Maxx said with a shake of his head, and I had to wonder if he was secretly talking about himself.
“Does my Maxx love presents too?” I asked as I violently tore open the envelope, the pretty paper tucked inside and nice handwriting be damned.
“Your Maxx has always had an obsession for unwrapping beautiful, shiny things,” he murmured into my ear. “Especially those named Nera.”
“I am pretty shiny though, aren’t I?”
“Don’t forget very,verysexy.”
I smiled up at him. Not only did his words make me feel like the most stunning female on this show, but the way he looked at me did too. Like I was the center of his universe, a shimmering ball of starlight that made him glow from within.
Funny that I felt the exact same about him.
It wasn’t until I heard squeals of delight that I realized I hadn’t yet read my invitation. Maxx ripped his open while I read mine.
You’re invited to a luxury weekend space cruise! Pack your bags! We leave tomorrow morning!
“Oh.” I blinked over at Miekil and Bling who stared at their invitations with a mixture of shock, joy, and maybe a tiny bit of disappointment.
Which was exactly how I felt.
Everyone else was jumping up and down and screaming. Even Pete.
“Is it weird that I’ll miss this place?” Bling asked with a pouty twist of her shiny pink lips. “I know it’s just for the weekend, but still.”
“No.” I gazed out toward the pulsing beacon on the cliffside. “It’s not weird at all.”
We’d leave tomorrow. Which meant it was time to go see an insane Faid about a maybe baby and hear the possible deconstruction of what I thought I knew was the truth.
Chapter sixteen
Maxx
Neradidn’tsaymuchduring the trek to see Rain, and I didn’t want to push her. Bathed in the glow of silver moonlight, her big eyes appeared haunted, and her sweet lips were locked into a troubled frown.
Once again, I was amazed at her strength and determination. How many would break in her shoes at the idea of seeing Rain again? How many could go through with it and come out on the other side as the same person they’d always been?
Not me. If anything ever happened to my Roxxy-Boxxy and then I faced her killer years later, I would be a demented, blood-lusting shell of my former self, then and forever. There was no coming back from that. If I ever faced Bexx’s killer, it would be the same.
Though perhaps on the inside, Nera was at war with herself. Caught between her need for revenge and answers, her past and her future. Given how tightly she clutched her oar as she helped row us closer, maybe that was more the case.
Over the gentle waves splashing against the sides of the boat, I listened for anyone who might be following us. I’d seen no sign of Earth Space Fleet since my escape, and every minute they stayed hidden coiled my gut tighter and tighter.
They’d come for me again. It was only a question of when.
When we made it to shore and started our hike up to the cliff, Nera took my hand. I squeezed it in reassurance, in solidarity, in love.
“What do you think about our weekend field trip tomorrow?” she asked, an obvious distraction for herself while we climbed toward Rain.
“I think the show’s ratings must mean that they will no longer spare any expense to make it bigger and better.”
