Taken by the Alien Next Door (Aliens Among Us #1) - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,62

of an inch toward the bedroom, he would not be able to stop himself.

He would be helpless but to go to her, and he would have her.

Zevris forced his legs into motion, hurrying to the stairs.

Each time his foot came down upon a step during his descent, he felt a jolt in his aching groin. He had his teeth gritted and his fists clenched by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs. His shaft was straining against his jeans, pressing unrelentingly against the denim, and his tail was coiled around his leg with crushing strength.

Tabitha had looked so stunning in his bed. Her eyes had been dark with lust despite the intense gleams that had shone within them, and her tousled hair, hanging freely about her shoulders, had begged for him to comb his fingers through it. That satiny top had molded to her breasts and perfectly outlined her nipples. The way she’d fidgeted, the way she’d bitten her lip, the way she’d pressed her thighs together as though yearning to be filled…it had all nearly driven him mad with want.

He tugged on his boots and propped a foot on one of the lower steps, leaning forward to tie his bootlaces.

A series of soft clicks sounded on the floorboards in the hallway, drawing steadily nearer to Zevris. He pulled the knot on his bootlace tight, lowered his foot the floor, and straightened to find Dexter in the hall.

Dexter stared at Zevris with dark, expectant eyes, his tail wagging erratically from side to side as though in muted anticipation.

Zevris frowned down at the animal. He still wasn’t sure what to make of Dexter—or of any dogs, for that matter. He knew they were descended from wild beasts called wolves, knew that humans had trained and domesticated them over many thousands of years, knew that they had a reputation for loyalty. Sometimes, they even seemed to show intelligence well above that of most Earth animals, at least in Zevris’s limited experience.

What of Dexter? Was he loyal to Tabitha? Dexter had been the reason Tabitha snuck into Zevris’s yard yesterday afternoon, and he had abandoned her when she’d been discovered. The dog had seemed unbothered by his master’s absence and had seemed equally indifferent to Zevris’s presence on Tabitha’s property afterward.

There was a tiny chance that the dog had been leading Tabitha to what she truly wanted, but the notion seemed too foolish, too hopeful, to hold any weight.

“It does not smell like you defecated in my dwelling,” Zevris said as he walked toward the kitchen, “but I suggest you mind your claws. My tolerance for further scratches on my floor is quite low.”

Dexter walked behind him at an unhurried pace, claws clacking on the floorboards in casual defiance of Zevris’s suggestion.

Perhaps it could be attributed to his lingering arousal and lack of fulfillment, but Zevris couldn’t find it in himself to be angry at Dexter. The animal had an undeniable, indefinable charm.

“We both need some fresh air. Do you want to go for a walk?”

The dog’s ears perked, and his tail rose, swinging with greater speed and enthusiasm.

Zevris activated his holoshroud. For some reason, the faint hum of the hologram shimmering into place sent a shiver through him, sparking a brief but potent flare of pleasure in his groin.

Gritting his teeth, he picked up the leash he’d taken from Tabitha’s home—he’d filled one box with things for her, another with things for the dog—and clipped it to Dexter’s collar. He wound the loop at the end around his hand. Dexter was already pulling on the leash in his attempt to get to the front door as Zevris turned to pluck a pet waste bag out of the little box.

With the bag in his pocket, he walked to the door—or, more accurately, allowed Dexter to lead him to the door. He deactivated the security field and had a moment of hesitation as he stepped outside, turning his head and glancing toward the stairs. Though he’d attempted to treat the situation with some humor, he could not deny his guilt at having Tabitha trapped here alone, once again bound to his bed, as he was stepping out freely.

He forced himself forward, closed the door, and locked it, sending the command through his neural transceiver to turn the forcefield back on.

Dexter started down the walkway, glancing back to give Zevris a big canine grin.

Matching the dog’s pace, Zevris followed Dexter along the sidewalk and through the quiet neighborhood, scanning his surroundings closely and