Enticed by the Alien Warrior (Warriors of Agron #8) - Hope Hart Page 0,17

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 it?”

She shrugs. “Anyone is a suspect.”

“Arix told me not to be alone with his uncle today.”

“Probably a good idea to not be alone with any of these guys. Except maybe Arix if you’re planning to let him get under your dress.” She winks at me. “So are you?”

I blow out a breath. “I’ve been working on a pros and cons list.”

She laughs. “Of course you have. Let’s hear it.”

“Okay. Pro: He makes me feel…good. He doesn’t see me as just a dumb model, although I guess that’s because he doesn’t really know what a model is. Thanks for that little peek into my life at lunch, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Con: He’s way more experienced than me.”

“Girl, that’s a pro. Why would you want to be with someone who you have to tell what to do in bed?” She wrinkles her nose. “Not fun.”

“Hmm. Okay, so you may have a point there.”

“Of course I do. Go on, give me the rest of it.”

I lean over and smell a bright-red flower, stroking one finger over the soft petals.

“Pro: It would be a chance for me to have some fun on Agron, you know? Everyone else has been banging all over the place, and I’m still practically a virgin. It’s embarrassing.”

Sarissa bursts out laughing. “Agreed. And con?”

I glance at the guards behind us. “It feels weird to consider boning someone who has guards following us around.”

She snorts. “I can guarantee the guards were at the commander’s insistence. From what I’ve learned about him, Korzyn is about as trusting as a murder cop three days from retirement. Don’t worry about him though. I’m going to find out what makes him tick. And then I’m going to kill it.”

I gape at her, and we both jump as one of the guards clears his throat.

We both whirl. “You guys are surprisingly quiet for such huge men,” I mutter, and Zion grins at me while the other guard stays blank-faced. Sarissa narrows her eyes at both guards.

“Snitches get stitches,” she advises them, and I sigh. They are definitely going to tell the commander that we were up to no good. As if the guy needs any further excuse to glower at us.

We turn and continue walking, this time glancing frequently over our shoulders to check just how close the guards are.

“Okay, then. Con?” Sarissa asks, her voice low.

“I just don’t know if I’m the fling type. Other than a glimpse of sadness when he talked about his mom, I’ve never seen any real feelings from Arix.”

“That’s a good thing. You don’t want feelings from a fling. Look, this is the best-case scenario for an elongated one-night stand. No awkward phone calls, no bumping into him when you’re out with friends—or worse, a new guy—and certainly no pondering whether to have another fling in the future. You’ll get it out of your system and then leave. It’s perfect.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “You seem way too invested in this.”

She sighs. “You’ve been sad, V. And I get it. It’s hard seeing everyone else settling down with their Braxians. Now you’ll get a little slice of that, but you’ll still be able to get on that ship and kick some Grivath ass. It’s a win-win.”

“You realize absolutely none of that was about Arix himself, right?”

She shrugs. “He’s just a man. A very good-looking man, but a man all the same. And we don’t catch feelings.” She smiles. “We catch spaceships.”

I think about her words while I walk back to the castle. Before I know it, I’m standing outside Arix’s rooms, after convincing Zion to take me to them. I knock, but he doesn’t answer, so I shrug, scampering back to my room where I can pretend nothing happened.

I pace for a while, still adding to my pros and cons list. I’m being ridiculous, I know… But if I trust my traitorous body to make the decision…

I’ll be climbing all over him.

I turn at a knock on the door, my stomach fluttering as it opens. Arix stands there, his eyes on mine as if