Page 23 of Bound to the Alien King
That snapped me out of every roiling thought and emotion.
“Did you just say tacos?”I asked, sitting up expectantly.
Maxx chuckled as he eyed the warriors bringing us food.“A certain human once told me that all she wanted was for me to tell her she was pretty and feed her tacos.I intend to fulfill that promise right now.”
My heart skidded sideways.Was there anything he wouldn’t do for me?Probably not, but all the days and months and years of thoughtfulness could be shattered in an instant if his Faid tech was hacked like Rain’s.It didn’t matter if he would do anything for me.I didn’t trust him anymore for fear that any second he would turn into a killing machine.
Dark thoughts or not, I couldn’t keep from drooling all over myself as the platters were served.Crispy shells, all sorts of toppings, and a vat of guacamole I wanted to run away with.
The plates crashed down a little too hard in front of Miekil with obvious looks of disgust and doubt thrown his way.
“Watch yourself, Dexxum,” Maxx warned, flexing his fist on the table.“He is our guest.”
The warrior named Dexxum backed off, the muscles in his jaw twitching, as he made sure to put himself between Miekil and the woman behind him.
“I meant no disrespect, Your Highness,” he muttered.“It’s just that after what happened to Princess Roxxanne—”
“Iknowwhat happened,” Maxx said, his voice low and gravelly, “and this Killian—Miekil—had nothing to do with it.In fact, he’s helping me so that it doesn’t happen again.”
Dexxum pounded his fist over his heart, and he and his wife left us.
Wow.Miekil and Maxx had sure come a long way from charging across the stage to kill each other to this level of trust and kinship.
I beamed at Miekil over the huge bowl of freshly cut tomatoes.“Is this bromance of yours part of the peace treaty between the Killians and the Xenoxx, or is it just an added bonus?”
“Bromance?”Roxxanne asked, loading her taco with nothing but tomatoes and cilantro.
“Never mind,” Maxx said, shooting me a faux scowl.
I quickly looked away from him and focused again on Miekil.“How are you?”
“I’m…” He glanced at Roxxanne.“Never better.”
Message received.Now was neither the time nor the place to talk about that particular truth with Bling, so I sidestepped around all the eggshells and taco shells, all the lies and withheld information, all the doubts and broken hearts with a truth bomb I’d been too chicken-shit to say before now.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” I said, reaching for a taco shell.“I’m pregnant.”
Chapter nine
Maxx
AtNera’sadmission,Iinhaled on a little green soap-flavored leaf called cilantro.How could humans eat soap-flavored anything?
Immediately, Roxxanne began pounding on my back while I choked.
“What?”she shrieked, her head swiveling between Nera and me.“Dad, are you all right?What, Nera?Dad!Stop dying for a second.Nera,what?”
Nera nodded, unable to meet my gaze, confirming what she’d said.She was pregnant.With my baby.An alien king/Faid she now hated.
I couldn’t speak yet.I couldn’t feel yet either, nothing more than sorrow for another precarious position I’d put her in.
“Nera…” Miekil said, grinning from ear to ear, but then it froze in place as he turned to me.“I, uh… Roxxanne, how about you show me your, uh…”
It took him too long to come up with anything.
“Donuts?”Roxxanne suggested with a raised brow.
“That works too.Come on.”He bolted out of his seat like it was on fire, taking his full plate with him.
