The Alien's Seduction (Warriors of Luxiria, #7)

by Zoey Draven

“I am not your enemy, female,” the male said, voice hushed, jaw clenched. “I am the opposite. I will protect you with my life.”

“You are my female,” he murmured lowly, stepping closer so that she could see his face clearly as he spoke. “You are my mate. I would rather cut off my own hand than lay a finger on you in anger.”

When I want something, I get it. If I have to claw my way up from the bottom, I will. I have before.”

“I will win you over. You are mine, as surely as I am yours. You may not realize that yet,” he said softly, “but you will.”

Are you ready?” Was she? No. Hell no. But she was a liar, backed into a corner. So, she said, “Yes. I am.” “Then we begin,” he said, though his eyes glowed as he said it. Crystal had the impression that he wasn’t talking only about their travels.

“Happiness is an emotion,” he said. “Just like anger, lust, sadness, loneliness. It comes and it goes. It is not a constant state.”

“When you like killing, luxiva, that is when you are in danger of losing your soul,” he said. “Luxirians, we kill for a purpose, not because we like it, but because sometimes violence is necessary for peace, as fragile as that peace may be. In an ideal universe, violence would not be needed. But we never live in ideals. There is always an ugliness.”

“Love is simple,” Beks murmured. “It’s us that makes it so complicated. Now suck it up, girlie. You have an important decision to make.”

In that moment, she had brief clarity. An answer so simple and yet so very not simple at the same time. Because life was never simple. It was ugly, but wonderful.

“What I wish for both of you girls,” their mother began, “is that you find someone who supports you, who respects you, and who will cherish you for the rest of their lives. Because you deserve that, do you understand? You deserve that kind of love.”