Page 17 of Captured By The Alien Barbarian
Hold up.
I snap my eyes back to his face. He looks way too pleased with himself right now, if you ask me.
“Listen, if I’m gonna stay here, we’re gonna need to have some house rules in place,” I say.
* * *
“Ground rules,”I repeat firmly.
This is my chance, and I’m not about to let it slip away. He will accept me. I know how much he wants me here now, and I’m not going to squander this opportunity. I am still mad at him for calling me his prisoner.
Before I know it, I’m rattling off one ground rule after another—I never thought that I would be a difficult person to live with, but apparently I am. Just when I think I’ve exhausted my list, fresh demands spring to mind.
Taccit stares at me with an almost unerring intensity, his eyes glittering with happiness. And lust. I can’t ignore the way his gaze roams up and down my body, as if the blanket I’m draped in is transparent. I hate how my skin heats under his gaze, attributing it to the embarrassment of being seen naked. I should be more freaked out, but the blatant inspection has me feeling things that I shouldn’t be.
And Taccit certainly has his charms. He’s quite the looker if you can overlook the claws, tail, and bodysuit-colored skin—actually, even those give him an air of otherworldly exoticness. An intriguing otherness that entices me like never before. He’s like that forbidden candy that your mouth waters to just lick.
“Enough, mate. Enough,” Taccit says. “We have plenty of time to decide how you want your bed furs arranged.”
Perhaps I am being a tad excessive and pedantic with my ground rules. He’s right, who cares if the bed is made each day or not? Okay, so I might be a bit of a neat freak. Yet, all I want is some semblance of control in my life right now, even if it hinges on the trivial.
“I will go hunting. I will gather you fresh food. I suspect you are as hungry as I am,” he says.
With that, Taccit casts off his bedspread and proudly stands before me, naked as the day is long. I find myself unable to tear my eyes away from his... anatomy. My thighs clench at the sight, and I suck in a breath involuntarily.
“You will stay here. You will not leave,” he says, in a no-questions-asked manner.
I glare back, indignant. Did he not hear a single word I said?
“No,” I reply, my chin lifted defiantly. “I refuse to be your prisoner. I will come and go freely.”
Taccit slowly pivots towards me, his face darkening in a scowl.
“You will stay here,” he says, unfazed. “You will not leave without me.”
And damn, doesn’t his expression cause a stirring low in my belly. What is wrong with me? Why does this stubborn, infuriating man have the power to set my heart aflutter? Unaware of my actions, I raise my bow toward him. In response, Taccit closes the gap between us, apparently unconcerned by my hostile gesture. In a flash, he snatches the weapon from my grasp, tossing it aside. Startled, I stumble back, only to have him encircle me in his embrace, pulling me to his chest.
“What are you doing?” I ask with surprise. As I look into his eyes, I watch as his pupils expand. His arms feel like metal bands encasing me, as solid as steel, and they tighten ever so slightly, drawing me even closer against him.
A small voice in the back of my mind whispers that being held like this isn’t entirely awful. A warm ache starts to radiate low in my belly as he confidently asserts his presence.
That is, until the not-so-little reminder of his arousal bumps against my stomach.
Oh, crap.
“I’m naked.”
Taccit chuckles, his lips curving into a dazzling smile. “Yes, little Nika, you are.”
His fingertips draw circles on the bare skin of my lower back, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their creative wake. I shiver, and it’s not because I’m cold.
His scent swirls around me, intoxicating. It’s that earthy scent that I find so calming, soothing my frayed nerves. My hands find a comfy resting place on his firm pecs. I sway, caught between the desire to shove him away or yank him even closer.
Licking my suddenly parched lips, I inwardly question whether I’m more afraid of him or my own reaction to his presence. His eyes latch onto the movement, boring into me with a smoldering intensity.
He swallows heavily, and I get the distinct sense that he’s contemplating kissing me. To my own surprise, I’m not entirely objecting to the idea.
I never imagined myself as the type to dive headfirst into a relationship like this, but when was the last time someone gazed at me with such hunger and desire? His controlling nature may chafe, but at the same time, my body responds to him like it never has before.
