Page 108 of Riv's Sanctuary

She was confusing him, making him...think about things. Making him want things he shouldn't.

"Doing what?"

Innocent brown eyes looked up at him as the human blinked.

"Human—"

"Lauren. My name is Lauren. Please stop calling me ‘human,’” she mocked is tone, her eyes rolling back into her head as she did.

Riv paused.

That wasn’t what he sounded like.

He didn’t sound like that at all.

“It makes me feel...like a dog or something," she continued before glancing at Grot, who’d padded in behind her. "Sorry, doggo, no offense."

Riv glared at her.

His anger seemed to be having no effect on her and that only made him more pissed.

Beings bent to his will from his pure ferocity and this human was ignoring the fact his fangs were bared right above her.

Forcing her against him some more so she had to tilt her head and look up at him, he growled into her face. "Stop."

La-rehn blinked, her brown gaze moving over his face slowly only to land on his lips.

It was then he realized he wasn’t wearing his messhi and they were close, close enough for her breath to brush over his skin.

"Stop what?" Her voice was breathless.

Phek.

Stop being so...he didn't know what.

Releasing her suddenly, he stormed into the corridor on the way to his room. Leaning against the wall, he ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath.

Phek the favor he owed Geblit. The Torian needed to come get his human.

Pulling out his sat phone, he punched in Geblit's ping code. It took three tries before Geblit finally answered.

"Geblit."

"Riv. H-how great to hear from you."

"Spare me the phekking formalities. I'm bringing the human to you tomorrow."

"What? No. You can't do that!"

“You’re the one who bought a trafficked being. She's coming back to you." He cut his gaze toward the main room. "Better you take the female than those creeps at the exchange."

"Y-you brought the human to the exchange? Y-you can't. She's prohibited goods. They could have caught her!"

Riv paused and blinked. "Right. I know that now. Thanks for the heads up, by the way."

"She was smuggled in from a Class Four planet," Geblit continued.

"Riv, I...Cargga will kill me if the human returns. I can’t keep her."