Enticed by the Alien Warrior Hope Hart (the giving tree read aloud .TXT) 📖

to hold me in place as he plunders my mouth. My thighs tense, and I gasp as my body goes languid and soft against him.

He slowly pulls away, and my heart stutters at the lust written all over his face.

“Come to my rooms after dinner,” he murmurs. “And let me show you how much more we have in common.”

I open my mouth, but we both turn at the sound of someone clomping through the bushes.

“They went in this direction,” a low voice says, and Arix tenses, immediately pulling me to my feet and striding toward the intruder. He’s practically dragging me at this point, but I get it.

This is his sanctuary, and he sure doesn’t want others to know about it.

It’s Tridi who’s striding along the forest path, two guards in tow. He looks surprised when we appear from within the forest, and I clear my throat.

“I saw the cutest furry animal and insisted we get closer,” I laugh, batting my lashes for good measure. “His Majesty was kind enough to help me.”

Tridi nods, his brow creasing, but he seems to accept that explanation. Arix takes my hand and squeezes it, the gesture not missed by Tridi’s keen eyes.

“I was hoping to talk to you,” Tridi says, and Arix nods.

“I’ll be right there.”

Tridi glances between us, raising his eyebrows. Then he nods, turning back toward the clearing where we had lunch, chatting to his guards as he leaves. Unlike mine and Sarissa’s guards, his are obviously for his protection, while ours seem to have been put in place to protect everyone else from whatever threat we apparently present.

Arix squeezes my hand again, and I jump, realizing I’ve been frowning after Tridi. His eyes are serious, and he leans close, murmuring in my ear.

“You are never to be alone with him,” he says, and my mouth drops open.

“What? Why?”

“Promise me.”

I search his face, and from his lowered brows and the sharp jut of his chin, it’s obvious this is important to him.

“I promise.”

“Good.” He turns and strides away.

Chapter Six

Vivian

I walk back with Sarissa, our guards trailing at a distance. Neither of us wants to go back to our rooms just yet, so we head toward the gardens. The neat rows of flowers and shorter grass make these gardens lovely to walk through, but they don’t come close to matching Arix’s mom’s wild garden, hidden from view all these years.

Sarissa is quiet, and I nudge her with my elbow. “What’s up?”

She sighs. “Nothing. I just feel bad for leaving the other women. Clara was pissed when I said I’d go with you. She told me leaders don’t get to just quit when the going is tough. She said we may have found help, but part of leadership was providing emotional support and stability.”

I scowl at that. “You’re of more help here, looking for a way off this planet, than you are being a shoulder to cry on back at camp.”

“I’m worried I made the wrong choice.”

“Well, I’m worried about you.”

Her eyes widen slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I saw your notes on the Grivath.”

She shrugs. “I want revenge. That’s no secret.”

“What if we can’t get off this planet?”

“Oh, we’re getting off this planet. I don’t care who I have to kill to make it happen.”

I glance around us, but the guards are giving us more privacy than usual, chatting amongst themselves.

“This doesn’t sound like you, Rissa.”

Are those tears sparkling in her aqua eyes? I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen my cousin cry.

“You don’t understand, V. When we were on that ship…I thought we were going to die. We all did. And then Kelly really did die. Some of those women…a few of them are still teenagers. They’re so young, and they were losing their minds. I promised them we’d get out of there. I know I shouldn’t have made any promises, but I swore we’d make the Grivath pay for what they did. And now we have a chance to do exactly that.”

I sigh. I get it now. “And you always keep your promises.”

She nods, her face hard, all signs of tears gone. “That’s right.”

I know not to say it, but I say it anyway.

“You can’t let what happened impact your entire life. It’s not your fault, Rissa. You couldn’t have saved her.”

She immediately shuts down, her eyes flashing warningly at me. “I’m not talking about this.”

“Sarissa…”

“Not. Talking. About. It.”

“Fine!” I throw up my hands. “God, you’re stubborn.”

“Aw, thanks, V. That means a lot coming from you.”

I growl, and she laughs, brushing a stray tear off her face. “Soooo what did you and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Royal talk about?”

“Not much. His parents were murdered. Did you know that?”

She nods. “I learned that on our first day here. I thought you knew. According to most people, the king and queen were well liked, and known as fair rulers with a penchant for helping the poor. They had some policies that were unpopular amongst the wealthier people here—similar to tax increases on Earth. But they had no true enemies.”

“So whoever killed them was likely to be someone who wanted their throne.”

“Yeah. I thought it might be Arix at first. After all, he was supposed to be in the royal quarters with them. He’d snuck out that night. But he was just a kid, really, and everyone says he adored—and was adored by—his parents. Plus, he attempted to get into the royal quarters to save them while it was burning.”

Sarissa’s face twists, and my heart does the same.

“Rissa…”

“I’m okay. Anyway, the uncle is obviously suspect numero uno. After all, if Arix dies, he’s the one most likely to take the throne. But some say he wouldn’t be able to keep it—he hasn’t been working on his alliances enough over the years. After him, there are a bunch of advisers who would at least rule temporarily, and get this: the commander could be in the running for the throne too.”

I tilt my head. “You think the commander could’ve done