I hopped, lost my balance, but at the last moment, right before I ate shit on the cement, I caught the edge of the table. Relieved, I rested my weight on it. The table wobbled, screeched, and crashed under me. By some miracle, I managed to stay upright. “Fuck me.” Leaning on the window, I hopped to the small door, opened it, already pulling my dick out of my pants. I aimed. Wait a second. A damn closet. Pots, pans, first aid kits, towels, and something made of leather lay on the shelves. Turning, I slammed the door shut.
The late winter breeze blew the off-white curtains covering the window. I parted them, opened the window, and relieved myself on the lawn. There wasn’t much of a lawn, certainly not the California grass we had back in the compound in Beast City. This was sand, sand, and sand until you reached the concrete wall. Beyond the wall? More sand.
Closing the window, I spun around, ready for a voyage back to the bed.
It was all of five steps away.
It was five miles away.
I’d need a stick to act like a leg until I got up to the ship, where I hoped the med unit could fix it. I didn’t know if they’d ever had to fix a leg. I’d never even seen an incomplete beast before, probably because there had never lived a more incomplete beast. A beast with more regrets. I ought to just end it right now.
Looking around, I found nothing, and hadn’t seen any rope in the closet either. I leaned against the wall and slid down, banging the nub on the cement floor. Pain shot up from the heel I no longer had to the toes I no longer had, and all the way to my gut. I bent and held the nub, grinding my teeth.
The door opened.
With a growl, I snapped my head up.
My mate stood at the door, a tray of food in her hands. She wore a pale blue dress three sizes too big for her. It matched her eyes. Maybe I should let her feed me first, look for ways to end my life after. “Come in,” I said, and she closed the door behind her.
Gaze on the broken table, she said, “Didn’t like the furniture?”
“I’m redecorating.”
Her lips turned up, and she put the tray at the foot of the bed, then crossed the room and crouched next to me. With no resistance on my part, she threw my hand over her back, propped her shoulder under my armpit and attempted to lift me up. A pretty shade of red colored her face, and her cheeks puffed out.
I’d always known I didn’t deserve her, but in this moment when I watched her straining as she tried to lift me up, I realized I shouldn’t exist. For her sake, I should end it. She’d remember me as a stranger, not the male who’d killed her father and kidnapped her, thereby changing her life forever.
She snapped her head my way. “You think you can get off your ass and help me out?”
With her sweet face turned to me, I stared. Her pretty eyes, the color of the clear Daveko Sea, narrowed. “Did you hear what I said?” she asked.
I nodded.
“You’re gawking at me.”
Caught, but I didn’t deny it. “There’s a lot to gawk at.”
“Maybe you can stare after you get up. I need to feed you, then move on about my day.”
Right. “I can walk,” I said. “I was resting here for a minute.”
“Wobble,” she said.
“Hm?”
“You can’t walk. You can wobble.”
“A duck wobbles. I’m a beast, baby, I prowl.”
“A drake.” At my blank expression, she continued. “Duck is a female. Drake is a male.”
“Let’s settle on hopping.”
Sienna nodded. “Very well. Let’s hop. I’ll race you.”
“One leg only.” I propped myself against the wall and managed to stand upright. She followed and lifted her skirt, one knee bent, and I got a glimpse of her fair skin. My palms itched to touch her smooth thighs. I wondered if she wore panties. Fuckin’ A. I needed a lobotomy.
“You’re gawking again.”
“Guilty.” I winked at her.
“One-legged hop,” she said. “I should warn you, I’m a champion hopper.”
I chuckled. “On three. One, two… Hey!” I hopped after her, reached the bed last, and threw myself on the mattress. It creaked, and we bounced until settling back down. We lay facedown on the bed, our faces inches apart. Sienna blinked her long eyelashes. She was so pretty. I reached to swipe a stray hair away from her nose. Sienna flinched and sat up.
I followed. When I got comfortable enough with my back propped against the wall, I pointed a finger. “Cheat.”
Sienna shrugged. “Sucker. Wanna eat?”
Flirting used to come easy to me. Some women had called me a bad boy. I didn’t know about the boy part, but bad I’d earned. I smirked. “Is sweet pussy on the menu?”