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“Tareq,” Astra says, placing her hands on her hips as she scowls at me, “he’s a slave who’s more than ready to be rid of this dreadful collar. I know he’s a primitive creature. But apparently, so am I,” she giggles. “Are you going to leave me collared because I can be unpredictable?”
I don’t have an answer to that.
She smirks again, victoriously this time. “Didn’t think so. Quit yapping and show me how to remove this thing.”
There’s no arguing with this female. I quit “yapping” and show her the button sequence she needs to press to disable the collar and then how to release the tiny hooks that hold the collar on. The lizard creature kneels, waiting patiently throughout the whole procedure, his only movement the swiping of his thick tail from side to side in anticipation.
My own tail wishes to curl around Astra’s waist and pull her closer, but I don’t let it. This is not the time. She’s still angry with me. Not to mention, she’s going to go home and forget all about me and…dammit! My tail has wrapped itself around her possessively.
She stares up at me, surprise evident in her eyes, before smiling appreciatively. And…I’m lost. All thoughts of staying away from her instantly forgotten.
The lizardman’s collar falls off, rattling to the floor. He lets out a victorious roar and starts stomping and clawing at the device. I ignore him, my mind solely focused on Astra. Should I tell her to stay? But what if she doesn’t want to?
“On your knees, my tiger,” she says, her smile growing wider.
“Huh?”
She chuckles. “I want to take your collar off, but you’re too tall for me to reach it. You have to kneel down.”
“Oh. Right.” I kneel before her, looking up at her smiling face. The smile I want to keep seeing every day for the rest of my life. How can I let her leave?
The tip of her tongue peeks out of her mouth as she concentrates on entering the right sequence on the remote. Once she’s satisfied, she leans closer, putting her arms around my neck to reach the mechanism in the back of the collar. Of course, this means that my face is pressed against her chest but I’m not about to complain.
She makes quick work of unlocking the collar, and relief surges through me as she takes it off. Relief that is immediately smothered by disappointment when she straightens up again and steps back. Away from me.
“Please, stay,” I whisper before I can stop myself.
She blinks in confusion, her cheeks turning pink. “I… What do you mean, Tareq? Don’t you need to go and signal your friends?”
“Yes, of course. But… I mean…” I hesitate. I’ll be devastated if she refuses me but I know I’ll hate myself for the rest of my life if I don’t ask. “Don’t go back to Earth. Stay here with me.”
Chapter 19
Astra
My heart stops, registering Tareq asking me to stay with him, then it begins racing double speed. Did he really just say that? Here I was, agonizing over the thought of him not wanting me anymore and he just plain out asks me to stay. Here. With him.
He’s still kneeling in front of me, looking up into my face with such tender hope it makes my eyes water. We’ve known each other all of two days and he’s looking at me as if he is…in love with me? And fuck me sideways, I think I’m in love with him too! That gnawing feeling inside of me that makes me want to wrap myself around him like a vine and never let go can’t be anything else.
Love. Phew.
I never thought I’d find love. Definitely not the true “love at first sight” you read about in cheesy romances. But I’m absolutely, totally in love with this alien.
Alien. I wonder how it will work. We can have sex, obviously, but what about babies? Not that I want babies right away, but maybe one day? And where would we live? He talked about his family but mentioned that he doesn’t have a place of his own, that he just bunks with his crewmates when they’re not out on a mission.
Missions. He’s some sort of secret agent, I think. Like an alien James Bond. I don’t even know what he really does, just that he’s one of the good guys. But it also means that he’ll be gone a lot, doesn’t it? His job is dangerous too. He might not come back home. If we had a home together. And babies. Will they grow up without a father?
God, I’m totally freaking out and overthinking this. And I’ve been quiet for too long, because his smile has disappeared, replaced by a strictly professional expression. He can’t hide the anguish in his eyes, though.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles, getting to his feet. “I shouldn’t have said that. You want to go home and I shouldn’t have tried to interfere with that. I mean, of course you want to go home. You have a family there, a life. You know nothing about this world other than there are evil people in it. I can’t ask you to uproot your life for a man you don’t know. I don’t even have much to offer, I’m just a—”
I yank on his tail, the only part of his body I can reach since he’s turned away from me. “Yes,” I say when he frowns at me. “I’ll stay with you. Now shut the fuck up and kiss me.”
“You…you will?” He gawks at me, making no attempt at stepping closer.
I roll my eyes, huffing out an irritated sigh. If the mountain won’t come to me, I must go to the mountain. I step into him and place my hands on his chiseled chest. “Yes,” I repeat. “I don’t know what it means for me or if it’s even allowed for a primitive lifeform to live with you super advanced dudes,” I snicker, still irked by the whole being called a primitive creature business, “but I know one thing for sure. I never want to forget you. If that means I can’t go back to Earth, then so be it. Fuck Earth, anyway.”
“Fuck Earth,” he repeats absentmindedly, hypnotizing my lips. “My Myále.”
