Page 46 of The Marriage Bargain

Oh my gosh. Could he be any more perfect?

Mentally, I couldn’t help comparing tonight with the night he’d been stuck here at the house with me, the night we’d first met. When he’d taken the broom and helped out with sweeping, even though he’d been kind of a jerk with his teasing. Tonight, he seemed to genuinely want to involve himself, to be a part of the family. My attraction grew at leaps and bounds. I would think every woman would want that in a partner, alien Overlord or not.

“I guess…make sure the kitchen is clean,” I said. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand to go to bed when the kitchen is a wreck. Getting up the next morning and facing a sink full of dirty dishes sets a bad tone for the rest of the day.”

He allowed a quick smile. “I cannot say it particularly bothers me, but I do not mind cleaning. And after that?”

I blinked again. After that? What should I have him do?

“Uh, I guess we’ll have to figure out where we’re going to sleep.”

He nodded towards the couch where he’d slept once before. “I assumed I would sleep here.”

“Oh.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. I guess, after what had happened in his house, right before the unlucky phone calls, I’d sort of expected he’d naturally go into my room with me. Not to have sex or anything. It felt weird to think about having sex for the first time with kids in the other end of the house. Killed the vibe a little. However, just…having him in my room. In bed with me. Maybe that would be a good starting point for getting close to each other. Figuring out our new relationship.

But if he wanted to sleep on the couch, I wasn’t going to argue.

“Bedding is in the linen closet at the end of the hallway,” I said, gesturing. “Everything you’ll need is in there.”

“Thank you. Best see to the little one,” he said, turning for the kitchen.

I walked off with a sigh.

This must be similar to being a parent. Putting your kids’ needs before yours, no matter what, I thought. I get it. They’re kids. They need us. But, man, I wish…

I hardly dared to admit what I wished, even to myself.

I quieted the longings, keeping them at bay even while I comforted my niece, messaged Zyn for updates on my sister, then went to my room to put on pajamas. I deliberately didn’t think about the longings as I brushed my teeth and washed my face, afterward applying a moisturizer while wondering if Asterion women did the same. Did they worry about wrinkles like human women? From what I knew of the alien race, they seemed to age about on par with humans. Thankfully, Caide and I wouldn’t have to worry about some huge lifespan gap.

You probably won’t have to worry about that anyway, I reminded myself. Not like you’re supposed to spend the rest of your lives together. It’s temporary, right?

Right?

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, turning my face this way and that, checking for pimples or freckles or fine lines, crow’s feet, or blemishes. Anything that might potentially turn Caide off. A couple minutes of that and I shook myself, laughing quietly at my own ridiculousness.

He hasn’t acted turned off yet. Why are you being so vain?

Maybe because having an attractive male in the house made me want to feel sexy and attractive. Maybe it made me want to feel a little too sexy and attractive, because when leaving the bathroom I had to debate whether I should go straight to my room or if I should go check on my new alien husband first. Tell him goodnight.

I stood in the hallway, chewing my thumbnail, dithering. Being under the same roof as the kids cut down on the romantic factor of this being our wedding night, as did worrying about my sister and the baby. It wasn’t like this was going to turn into another make-out session. On the other hand, would he think it was weird if I came out to check on him? He wasn’t a kid, after all. Or would he appreciate the gesture as thoughtful, caring?

Why was I so hung up on this?

I felt like a teenager, wavering over whether she dared to pass a note in class to the guy she had a crush on. Same butterflies, but way bigger stakes.

I had half-turned to retreat to my room, when a sudden surge of what the hell made me spin back around on socked feet and pad into the living room, arms swinging like a marching soldier.

But quiet marching, so as not to wake up the kids or Caide, if he were already out.

The room’s lights were off but the TV glowed, even though he’d turned the volume completely down. He was sitting on the sofa, the remote clasped in his palms, shirt off, leaning forward to study the screen. I swear my heart did a funny flip. Not just because of how sexy he looked, with the glow of the screen accentuating his silver skin, making it glow too, but because of how…normal it looked.

For an instant, I could picture what it might be like to walk into the living room of our home and see him sitting like this, waiting to watch TV with me. Not for one night or a few months, but for years. Forever.

I could put up with that.

He noticed me standing there and glanced up.

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