Taken by the Alien Next Door (Aliens Among Us #1) - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,66

situation, but he didn’t have much time to waste. Absently, he drummed his fingers against the granite countertop. His tail twitched against his leg. How long a wait was long enough?

Despite all the deadly tasks Zevris Akkaran had undertaken, despite all the times he’d faced his own potential death, nothing filled him with as much dread as the thought of Tabitha Mathews deciding she didn’t want to see him again.

“If she doesn’t come down soon, the food will be cold, and I suppose you’ll get your feast.” He glanced at Dexter and frowned. The dog was unquestionably closer now, his snout within a few inches of one of the table’s legs.

Upstairs, the bedroom door opened, and Zevris heard Tabitha’s light footsteps as she made her way down the stairs. Dexter lifted his head and turned toward the kitchen’s entryway.

The end of Zevris’s tail curled, and his heart thumped a little faster.

Tabitha hesitantly appeared a few moments later.

She looked freshly showered, with her damp blonde hair woven into a large braid that fell over one shoulder. She wore blue jeans that clung to her shapely legs, socks, a white shirt that said Too Hot To Candle across the front, and an unbuttoned maroon cardigan.

Even like this—in what must’ve been her everyday attire—she was stunningly alluring.

Dexter scrabbled to his feet and hurried toward her, tongue lolling and tail wagging faster than Zevris had ever seen. The dog barked and lifted his front paws onto Tabitha, who beamed a smile down at him, catching his face between her hands.

“Hey Dex,” Tabitha said, voice high and happy. She scratched him behind his ears. “Did you miss me?”

The dog barked again, rubbing his head affectionately against her before sitting at her feet.

Tabitha straightened, her smile fading as she studied the spread on the table before she raised her gaze to meet Zevris’s. “No breakfast in bed?”

“I’m more than willing to take you back to my bed if that’s what you desire.”

She narrowed her eyes on him. “You do, and I’ll gouge your eyes out with a spoon.”

Blood thirsty female.

Zevris couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from quirking up. “So long as you are the last thing I see, I wouldn’t mind.”

Tabitha snorted.

Pushing away from the counter, Zevris walked to the table. He drew out a chair for her. “Come. Sit.”

She stared at him for a moment longer, her fingers toying with the cuffs of her sweater. Finally, she closed the distance between them and sat, allowing him to push her chair in. Dexter followed, plopping down next to Tabitha, looking hopeful.

Zevris pulled out his own chair and leaned over the table, removing the coverings on the various plates of food. “I wasn’t sure what you would prefer. Help yourself.”

Her brows rose as she looked over the spread, but her gaze paused and lingered on the cactus. The corners of her lips lifted into a small smile. She reached out, picked up a strip of bacon, and fed it to Dexter, who noisily gobbled it down.

“So this is what you were doing while my bladder was in danger of exploding?” she asked.

He deserved the sting inflicted by her words. “Yes. I focused so much on fulfilling this need that I lost sight of the others.” Zevris gathered the spare plates and covers and carried them to the counter, where he set them down. “Again, I am sorry. Hopefully, this will make it up to you, if only in small part.”

“Are you going to tie me to the bed again?”

Zevris drew in a deep breath, returned to the table, and sat down. “No.”

“Are you letting me go?” she asked hopefully. Too hopefully.

“No. But”—he hurried to add when her features fell—“I wish to make a compromise.”

Tabitha’s brow creased, and she turned her head slightly, giving him a suspicious look. “What kind of compromise?”

“Eat. Some of it’s likely getting cold already.”

She looked back down at the table. Finally, she picked up her fork and used it to transfer a pancake to her plate, followed by a small pile of scrambled eggs, and two strips of bacon. She drizzled syrup onto the pancake.

“I’m listening.” Tabitha glanced at him as she took a bite of her eggs.

Zevris piled food onto his plate, barely looking at what he was taking. “I’ve already explained why I cannot let you go, Tabitha, but I want to do all I can to make you feel like…a guest, and not a prisoner. I will not restrain you again. You may move about this dwelling freely,