Like why I thought it was a good idea to go off alone with him. Was my craving for male validation so bad that I allowed myself to be taken by the first male to show me any attention?
Granted, it had been a while since someone had taken an interest in me, but I wondered if that was therealreason.
My fists clenched tight. Oh God, why do I feel so broken?
Walking next to him, I gave my head a little shake. In retrospect, I might have appeared overly needy and vulnerable when I spoke to Trex.
But there’s no going back now. Maybe I should be on guard, but something told me he didn’t have any bad intentions.
And to be fair, Trex seemed happy for me to stay on the ship, at least for now.
Making small-talk with him felt awkward because of my intense attraction to him. And I let fear get the best of me in the galley. I should have shown him more gratitude. Instead, I came up with an excuse to return to my room and allowed myself to shut down.
He did nothing to deserve my annoyance.
And he’d been nothing but kind.
WE ARRIVED AT THE CORRIDORwhere Orin remained stationed outside. He moved his hand across a wall panel and the door opened with a swoosh.
Avery and Riley stood ready, eagerly observing the door. Upon spotting me, they instantly relaxed their fists and gave Trex an angry glare, to which he responded with a chuckle and a shake of his head.
Avery gave me an icy stare. “What the fuck is happening? Where’ve you been all this time? Did he try to lay hands on you?”
I wish, I thought.
She was acting like a mom on high alert, but I had a gut feeling there was more going on. Avery was clearly terrified, not sure what about. This was the safest we’d been since being abducted.
I glared at her. “It’s not like that. He just took me to get something to eat.” Guilt settled heavily in my stomach.
In reality, I had a secret longing to have him all to myself, but I didn’t want others to find out.
Tension was visible in Trex’s squared jaw as I quickly glanced at his profile.
Avery complained, “It’s bad enough I don’t know where Joele went. Who knows what’s happening to her? Then you left.” She spread her arms out to the sides.
I sighed. “Nothing bad is happening to Joele. She is the reason these guys were on the planet. It was a rescue mission. They were looking for her specifically.”
Avery and Riley scrutinized Trex.
“That’s great, isn’t it? What are you going to do with us?” asked Avery.
Trex let out an exasperated sigh, his irritation evident in the tone of his voice. “As I explained to Grace, we were not aware of you being on the planet. But we would not have left you behind. We wish you no harm. You are all under our protection. We only wish to keep you safe.”
Avery sneered. “From what? Aliens?”
She gave him a scornful look.
Trex directed his attention toward me. “I will speak with you later.” He turned and walked away, leaving Orin to deal with the rest of us.
Feeling sheepish, it worried me I’d gotten so upset with him. I wondered if he would want to speak to me again. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling bad about how I’d treated him.
Olivia was standing in the corner watching us. Then she and Orin shared a look before he closed the door by swiping his hand on the panel.
Riley put her hand on her forehead and started walking back and forth. She stopped and gave me the eye a few seconds later. “Did he try to make a move on you?”
I shook my head, feeling a wave of frustration, and plopped down on the bed I’d chosen earlier, dropping my hands into my lap.
It would have been great if he had tried something. He had such a magnetic pull on me I doubt I would have turned him down.
