Enticed by the Alien Warrior (Warriors of Agron #8) - Hope Hart Page 0,59

me to bed over the past few weeks. Instead, disappointment flashes in his eyes, quickly covered by indifference as he gets to his feet.

“I have something for you too.”

He reaches into his pocket and then holds up his hand. I frown, getting to my feet, and it’s not until he angles his hand closer to the light that I realize he’s holding something tiny between his finger and his thumb.

I lower my head. It looks like a…chip.

I glance up, meeting his midnight gaze. “I don’t understand.”

“I’ve had my people searching for it ever since I declared war on the Dokhalls. It was surprisingly easy to get them to turn on each other with a little torture. Within days, we knew which group of Dokhalls had the chip. My warriors were instructed to carefully search every Dokhall they killed.”

I stare at him, my heart racing. We can get off this planet. We can get revenge. If we want, we can even get back to Earth—back to our lives. So why do I feel like crying?

Arix is studying my face intently. Whatever he sees has brought a faint smile to his face.

“What are you thinking?” he asks me.

“I-I don’t know,” I stutter. “Th-thank you. You didn’t need to do this.”

“This is what you want. For some reason, I’ve been consumed with giving you what you want from the moment I’ve met you.” He glances away. “To my own detriment.”

Guilt twists my heart. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“Will you forgive me?”

“That depends.”

I blink at him. “On what?”

He gives me an enigmatic look but doesn’t reply, and I scowl at him.

He just shakes his head. “You should give this to your cousin,” he says, placing the chip in my hand and wrapping my fingers securely around it. He kisses my fist and then walks away, ignoring me as I call his name.

Sarissa is in her room, once again scanning her notes. She glances up, her mouth curling.

“Good to see you back on your feet. Are you hungry?”

I can’t even speak, so instead, I hold up the chip. Sarissa’s mouth falls open, and she jumps to her feet, snatching it from my hand, her fingers handling it as if it’s made of glass.

“What. The. Fuck.”

“Arix had his people looking for it this whole time.” My lower lip trembles, and I clamp my teeth down on it.

“Wow. You must be incredible in bed. Good work, cuz.”

She grins at me, but I can’t even bring myself to fake a smile.

“What’s wrong?”

I can’t speak around the lump in my throat, and she tilts her head.

“V,” she says. “This is incredible. This means we can probably get off this planet. We’re going to make the Grivath pay for what they did to us. And the Dokhalls too. No other human women are going to go through what we went through.”

I nod, and she stares at me for a long moment, finally stepping away and throwing up her hands.

“It’s the royal cock, isn’t it?”

I nod, blinking back tears. “Not just the cock but the man himself. I don’t think I can leave him.”

She sighs. “What did I tell you, Viv? Don’t get attached. What happens if we get off this planet and leave you behind and then you guys break up or something?”

My heart sinks at the thought. “I must be an idiot because it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Sarissa sighs. “You’re not an idiot. You’re in love.”

I stare at her. “Wait. Were you testing me just now?”

She laughs, but her eyes are wet. “You’re willing to give up any future that includes Starbucks. That says it all.”

I turn to pace. I am in love.

I thought I knew what love was. I believed it was like an ember, hidden and protected deep within a person’s soul. In reality, love is a wildfire that burns away everything you thought you knew. It creeps up on you, almost silent, until you’re suddenly overcome, surrounded by flames. And you’d run right through those flames if it meant you could spend the rest of your life with that person.

But life isn’t a fairy tale.

“What if I stay, and then in a few months, we’re tired of each other?”

“After what you guys went through, I’m willing to bet that won’t happen. He loves you, girl. As much as I’d like to tell you otherwise, so you’d come with me, it’s obvious every time you’re in the same room together. Sometimes, he stares at you like it’d physically hurt him to look away. And every now and