Page 7 of Adored By the Alien Warlord

“All of me is dirty. I danced all night. My sweat coats my sweat and when it dries, more sweat joins the party. I haven’t had a shower or a bath since . . .” My voice choked off, but I found the strength to speak. “Since I left Earth. Sink baths don’t do much when you don’t have clean clothing to put on after, when you can’t cover your entire body with water.” I shot a glance to the hall. “When you don’t know if someone will creep up on you and watch. Or do something worse.”

A low growl rumbled in his chest. “No one is going to watch you. No one is going to do something worse.”

“You’re not here all the time. For all I know, you’ll walk out the door and never come back. Wouldn’t blame you if you did, because this place sucks. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“Sit. Please?”

There was no harm in it, though I wasn’t sure why he bothered.

I perched on the edge of my bed.

“Humping. Tang-oo,” he said. “You say such strangethings, female.” He dropped to his knees in front of me. Normally, I’d find this a swoon-worthy position for a male to take but in his case, it only placed him at eye level.

He was so much bigger than me. Enormous and much too handsome.

He gently lifted first one of my feet, then the other, carefully washing them with a wet cloth before he took the rest of his shirt and dried them.

When he’d finished, he laid one of my feet on top of his palm. My feet were average sized except when compared to his hand. With his fingers outstretched, his hand was so much larger. His feet too. Everything about this male who I couldn’t look away from was enormous. There was something in his eyes . . . Something lost and sweet and much too innocent for this world around us.

A tic in his temple thumped much too fast, and his jaw solidified into stone. “I am here for as long as you need me,” he finally said, not looking up to meet my eyes.

“What if I need you forever, Davon?” My voice came out ragged.

“My forever is yours, Maggie.” Only now did his gaze meet mine.

Tears stung in the corners of my eyes, and for just this moment, I wanted to relax. Sink into the belief that someone—anyone—cared. What would it be like to have a protector, a person who didn’t make demands on my body, someone who watched out for me. Someone like Davon?

“You just met me,” I said. “You shouldn’t say things like that.” Things he couldn’t truly mean.

How could I trust him? If I’d learned nothing since arriving on this planet, it was that everyone looked out for themselves. I’d met no one who cared about others.

He placed a big palm on my shoulder and lightly squeezed. “I came to this city to find you, Maggie. You.”

I shook my head. “You didn’t know I was here. No one knows I’m here.” And that was the worst of it. I was lost. Forgotten. And so wretchedly alone.

I did nothing to hold back the tears trickling down my cheeks. Such a useless waste of water.

“Iknew you were here—somewhere,” he said.

“How?”

“Talia sent me to find you.”

Chapter 4

Davon

Her gorgeous brown eyes widened, and she clutched her throat with one hand. “Talia?” she croaked. “You’ve seen my sister? Where is she? Please tell me she’s okay!”

“She’s safe. She’s loved. And she told me you were out here somewhere.” I pressed my fist against my chest again. “I vowed to find you and bring you to her.”

The shiny droplets sliding down her face picked up to a furious pace, plopping onto the front of her tunic. I’d seen one other human female do such a thing, Maggie’s sister, and at first, I’d thought there was something wrong with her eyes. Then her mate had explained this was how humans expressed emotions. He’d said that her tears—that’s what they were called,tears—could be released to express sadness, happiness, and even flow after a moment of high tension. For relief, I supposed.

My heart trembled, because I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn’t know how.What did humans need? I sat on the bed beside her, frozen like the white crystals I’d once touched on the top of the tallest mountain peak beyond the desert, watching her sadness spill out.

“Please tell me if you’re happy or sad,” I groaned. My protective instincts clashed with bewilderment.

Her water rage made her body shake, and she cupped her cheeks with her palms, perhaps to slow the fall of her wetness. Or to capture it. Water was vital in the desert. To spill it like this was unheard of. It made sense she’d try to collect it.