Instead, he watched as she opened the door and stepped inside.
“It’s beautiful, My Ruler,” she breathed.
“It is not large,” he warned her.
“It’s more spacious than the home I shared with my family on Terra-17,” she said softly.
His eyes traced the four walls of the room and he tried to imagine a whole family living in that space.
“I am sorry, My Ruler,” she said quickly. “That was meant as a compliment to the lovely room. My family and I were quite comfortable in our home, of course. Traditions are different everywhere, as you said before.”
So, she was a defender of her home planet, and determined that he not feel sorry for her.
A pang of admiration etched a channel in his heart for her before he could stop it.
The girl had no way of knowing the hatred many had for his kind here on Ulfgard. She was not the only one who felt defensive about her people.
“I am pleased that you are happy,” he said, trying to stifle his brief swell of emotion.
Though other beings here could not read feelings as he could, it was an ingrained instinct to guard his emotions.
She placed her bag beside the bed, and the potted plant on a small floating table.
The pot wobbled and he moved to catch it just as she bent to curtsy to him.
His movement startled her and she stumbled slightly, leaving him to catch the plant in his right hand and the girl in his left.
She gasped as he righted the plant and straightened up.
But he didn’t let her go.
A wave of awareness shot through him.
Her small form was so soft and warm, and she smelled like honeysuckle. She clung to him for a moment, then steadied herself and looked up at him.
In the instant their eyes met, he felt an earthquake in his chest.
Time stretched as his eyes moved from her beautiful dark eyes to her plump lips.
Her tongue darted out to wet them, as if she was preparing for his kiss.
A sharp sound suddenly pierced the air and for an instant he didn’t recognize it. Then it came together for him in a heartbeat, and he realized in horror what he had been about to do.
“My comms,” he said briskly, letting go of her as if she were on fire. “Make yourself at home. I have to get to work.”
He turned without meeting her eyes and swiped his bracelet to answer before he was even out of the room.
Furious with himself and wondering if he was losing his mind, he listened to his head of security describe his daily rounds without really taking any of it in as he retreated down the corridor, desperate to get as far from the infuriating new nanny as possible.