Page 46 of Splintered Shadow
She lifted her gaze, only to find him watching her with a fierce intensity. “I do,” she said.
He grinned in triumph, a blinding display of teeth and fangs against his dark gray lips. “Sarah Krasinski of Earth, you are my mate. When I found you, I knew you would change everything. I believe you were brought to this planet for me and me alone because I am that selfish and arrogant,” he said. “Tell me you are mine.”
That was the bossiest proposal she’d ever heard, but she loved every word of it. “I’m yours. I accept,” she said.
His large hand wrapped about the back of her neck. He leaned down.
This was it. He was going to kiss her. Blubbering and tear-stained was not how Sarah pictured this moment.
Sarah closed her eyes and sighed, so ready for this.
His forehead pressed against hers. A rumbling, content noise came from deep in his throat.
Sarah opened her eyes. Vekele was right there, his eyes closed. Dark lashes rested against silvery gray skin.
It was intimate, perhaps more intimate than lips touching lips, because she was outside his field of vision. They were close enough that their breaths mingled. He was utterly vulnerable. Sarah couldn’t imagine Vekele allowing himself to be vulnerable, yet there he was with the slightest hint of a smile on his face.
This wasn’t the kiss she imagined, but this was nice, too.
Chapter Ten
Sarah
They immediately prepared to leave.Out of nowhere, a young-faced guard arrived. She recognized him from the temple. He had been with Vekele when the void beasts attacked her.
Vekele handed over her busted old phone. “Do not damage this, Luca.”
“Fascinating. This generated the portal?” Luca turned the phone over in his hands.
“I’m not sure how, but I think so,” Sarah said. “It’s just my phone.”
“Phone,” Luca repeated, the word meaningless to him.
“We use it for communication, entertainment, taking pictures, and wasting time on games or apps.” Embarrassment rose as she explained all the amazing things her extraordinarily powerful pocket-sized computer could do, that she only used to watch cat videos and listen to audiobooks.
“Oh, it is a tab. Would you like a replacement?” he asked.
“Yes, sure,” she answered, glancing at Vekele in case that was not allowed. He seemed unconcerned.
“Set my mate up with a new unit when we arrive. She will require voice functionality until a translator chip is installed,” Vekele said.
Luca nodded. “Will you instruct her on how to operate a tab, or shall I? I do not mind.”
“Stop standing around. We need to return to the palace.” Another guard entered the room. She was a tall woman, broad in the shoulders, and had long claws on her fingers. Her face was unfamiliar to Sarah, but she knew the voice. This woman had also been at the temple when Sarah fell through the portal.
“Kenth,” Vekele said, his head dipping slightly in greeting.
“If you have finished flirting with the princess, get in the flyer,” Kenth told Luca, whose face turned a shade darker.
“He wasn’t flirting,” Sarah protested.
“He was,” Vekele said. “Is there anything you wish to bring?”
Sarah scanned the room. The clothes she wore when she came through the portal had been ruined. The busted phone was her only link to home.
“This,” she said, grabbing the Karu and Beast game set. “And how was that flirting?”
“He could not take his eyes off of you. It was highly impertinent.”
