Riv's Sanctuary: A Sci-fi Alien Romance by A.G. Wilde (best books to read TXT) 📕

Lauren rubbed her eyes, stretching as her vision adjusted to the fact she was awake.

She felt not-surprisingly achy.

After the mindblowing sex they’d had, Riv hadn’t seemed to be able to get enough.

He’d reentered her again and again, the memory of which caused a big smile to spread across her face.

Had the day before really happened?

If the dull ache between her thighs was the answer, then it was a resounding affirmative.

Heading to her room she got a fresh tunic and padded out to the main room, checking the bandages covering her palm as she did.

The blisters were scabbed over and no longer red. She could probably take the bandages off now. That would surely give her some more mobility.

As she came upon the main room, a sliver of excitement ran through her.

Riv was probably up early like he usually was, taking care of the animals, and as she walked through the corridor and opened the door, she wasn’t surprised to see him doing just that.

He was shirtless again today and she watched him stretch to throw some hay into the purple almost-giraffe’s cage.

He turned as he was about to lift another bale of hay and his eyes landed on her.

The world stopped for a second as they looked at each other and Lauren held her breath.

What if everything had gone back to how they were before?

What if yesterday had been a one-time thing?

But when a slow smile curved Riv’s lips, the burst of glee that popped within her told her the truth: this was real.

This was happening.

Riv was smiling.

For the first time ever, she saw that emotion on his face and it was life-changing.

He let the hay fall at his feet as he stripped off his gloves and walked towards her slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.

Seeing him approach like that, all she could do was squeeze her thighs together. There was a need growing within her immediately and the way he was looking at her wasn’t helping.

Riv’s eyes moved from her toes straight up her naked legs to pause at the hem of her tunic.

Then his gaze moved higher, over the curve of her breasts to stop on her lips.

When he finally looked her in the eyes, he was only a few steps away from her and she clenched her thighs again.

His gaze was a lust-filled furnace, burning into her memories of what he’d done and telling her what he wanted to do.

His eyes devoured her and it was not till he was close, so close his nose lingered just centimeters above hers that she realized she hadn’t moved.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, and for some reason she got the distinct impression his words meant more than their surface meaning.

“Starved.”

He pulled her against him then, his arm circling her waist as he looked down at her, a strange look in his eyes as he scanned her face.

Then his lips were on hers in a slow, soft caress.

“Come. I have sustenance for you.” He spun her around and walked behind her till they were back in the main room. Then he pressed gently on her shoulders so she sat in one of the chairs.

Brows furrowed slightly, she watched him disappear into the kitchen before he returned with a small tray.

As he set it before her, her brows furrowed a little deeper.

It was the furry fruit she’d picked on that first day with him. “You kept this?”

“For you, yes,” he said, sitting across from her. His eyes still had that intensity from before and she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Something warm bloomed inside her.

As she took a bite of the fruit, a gush of sweetness flooded her tongue. It had the texture of lychee but tasted more like a sweet peach and banana combined.

Riv watched her eat, his eyes following her movement as if he was a predator tracking her, learning about her, planning when to pounce. Except, his gaze didn’t hold a threat. Instead, he seemed entranced.

“You’re here,” he finally said.

“I am. You only just noticed?” She chuckled.

“You’re not…avoiding me.” He paused. “A part of me thought you’d be staying away from me this light-cycle.”

“Do you want me to?”

“Never,” he said. “Never again.”

She smiled at that.

Moving from his seat, Riv came to kneel by her, his face pressed into her side as his arms wrapped around her waist.

After a deep inhale, he moaned a little.

“You’ve shown me what it means to look forward to something more,” he said. “I want that. Every day.” He paused. “For the rest of my life.”

Lauren’s breathing stopped, her lungs seizing.

“I guess,” Riv breathed, lifting his head so he could look up at her. “I guess I’m asking if you’d like to stay here in this desolate place with me and my animals.”

Lauren blinked. “Live out here?”

Something she’d never seen in his eyes passed through them and she recognized it immediately.

Fear.

“I suppose I could consider moving somewhere else. Somewhere closer to civilization if you really want to…”

Her heart ached.

To think he even suggested that. He was actually considering making such a drastic change for her.

Spinning so she faced him, she held his face between her hands.

This big blue, grumpy softie was asking her to stay with him for the rest of his life.

If that wasn’t some commitment, she didn’t know what was.

And she was ready for it.

“Of course, I’ll stay.” Then she chuckled. “I didn’t want to leave in the first place.”

Riv’s smile was faint. “I know that, but…the choice is yours. If you really want to leave—”

“I don’t.” She sighed. “Plus, I have to pay you back for sponsoring my alien visa thing. I’m not going to just mooch off you like that. I—”

Riv growled a little, his glare rendering her speechless.

“Pay me back? I don’t care about that.”

Lauren put down the piece of fruit she was about to place between her lips.

“You have no idea what you’ve done for me, have you?” she whispered. “For a whole year, I was treated like an animal. A lesser being.