Taken by the Alien Next Door (Aliens Among Us #1) - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,51
face. She shouldn’t have felt pity for him when he’d been the one to tie her to the bed. And yet…
She bit back the words she’d been tempted to speak to comfort him.
“Thank you,” she said instead, withdrawing her arms from his hold to bring her hands together and rub away the sharp, stabbing tingles assailing them.
He returned to his place, sitting on the edge of the bed facing her, but his gaze lingered on her wrists. She glanced down at them, too, subconsciously covering the irritated flesh as best she could. Zevris settled his big hand over hers. His palm was warm and rough, but his touch was still so light. His were practiced hands—the hands of a craftsman, of a soldier, strong and sure, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want them all over her.
“Look at me, Tabitha.”
She complied without thinking.
His face was hard, serious, and his frown remained firmly in place. “I have not earned your thanks. When I have given you pleasure, when I have given you security, when I have given you happiness, you may thank me.”
Warmth flooded her cheeks, but she arched a brow. “You’re still so sure.”
“I have never been more certain of anything.”
The way he was looking at her, the way his eyes glowed, it was getting harder and harder for Tabitha to convince herself he was wrong. In some ways, this almost felt like those moments that so often happened in movies—the intense stare that led into a passionate kiss.
She was definitely not ready for that.
Yet.
Tabitha tore her gaze away from his and twisted to the side, stretching her arm out to grab one of the glasses of water he’d placed on the nightstand with the plates. With her hand still regaining feeling, the glass nearly slipped from her grasp. She tightened her hold on it and brought it to her lips. The ice water instantly soothed her parched mouth and throat, so cold, refreshing, and delicious that she couldn’t stop. She drank like she’d just spent days trekking across a scorching desert.
Before she knew it, only the ice remained. The cubes clinked together as she lowered the glass.
She glanced aside to see Zevris still staring at her. Fortunately, some of the intensity in his gaze had been eased by the slight smirk on his lips.
She lowered the glass. “What?”
That smirk took on a roguish edge. “My female is even thirstier than I’d thought.”
Tabitha’s brows furrowed. “Did you just… Did you seriously…” She shook her head. “Nope, we’re not going there.”
“No, we aren’t. Not yet.” Zevris plucked the glass from her hand, leaned forward, and placed it on the nightstand. He picked up both plates and sat upright again, holding one to her. “But soon you will learn that I can quench your thirst and satisfy your every hunger.”
“Well, you certainly quenched my thirst—for water,” she said, taking the plate. She grabbed the fork with the piece of steak still attached to it and waved it at him. “And now, you are satisfying my hunger. For food. That’s as far as this goes.”
With what she hoped was a sense of finality, she brought the meat to her mouth, bit down on it, and slid it off the fork. The steak hit her tongue with an explosion of flavor that made her close her eyes and moan. She chewed, relishing the tender meat and its buttery garlic sauce, wanting the bite to last forever while simultaneously craving the next. She’d rarely had steak since moving out on her own—it was too expensive when you were on a budget—and she couldn’t recall ever eating one that tasted this good.
“Oh my God, how did you learn to cook like this?” She opened her eyes and was about to stab another piece of meat when she glanced up at him. Her hand froze.
His expression had softened, but his eyes were just as intent on her as ever—as though he were as invested in her reactions as she was in the taste of the food.
“The internet,” he replied. “I was not here long before I tired of preprepared food, and I feared the sodium content would kill me. That, and it seemed like knowing how to cook was a valued trait in a potential mate.”
Tabitha chuckled. “I thought the saying was that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I guess it works the other way around, too.”
She stilled, realizing what she’d said only after the words had been spoken.