Page 11 of The Pregnancy Pact

Heat flooded my cheeks.

“It’s not the same thing,” I protested.

“Is it not, though?”

Irritated, I stepped backward several steps. “No,” I said bluntly, “it’s not. I’m not married. Neither are you. If you had been married, I wouldn’t have messed with you at all, much less considered sleeping with you. How many of these guys—” I waved a hand to encompass the mostly male crew members zipping past, a few tossing us curious glances. “…do you think are married and have wives waiting for them on their home planets? I bet it’s a high number.”

The Asterion blinked a few times, face sober, then his firm features relaxed into a rueful smile.

“Perhaps you are right,” he said. “But, I assure you, many females are unfaithful partners as well.”

“Not as many as men,” I said, folding my arms stubbornly across my chest.

“You say that because your husband was unfaithful to you,” he suggested, his tone purposefully mild.

I opened my mouth to protest—to say, Yeah, that might have been true, but statistics prove…

I stopped. How many of the women back on Earth sleeping with my husband knew he was married? After all, he was a well-known figure in the community, and the fact that he had a wife and children was absolutely not a secret.

I closed my mouth, sighed.

“Okay, maybe women are just about as bad,” I grumbled. “Still—”

I stopped. I’d been about to say, “I detest cheaters.” What was the point? Why was I having this stupid discussion with him anyway? He was a complete stranger and it wasn’t like I’d be seeing him again after today.

“You know what?” I said, changing topics, “it doesn’t matter. It’s nothing to argue about.”

“I agree. We could be doing much better things than arguing.”

My eyebrows lifted slightly at the bare invitation. Ten minutes ago, or less, I’d been hoping to fall into his arms. My buzz and mood were a little stunted after that mild argument, but, still…I didn’t have anything better to do, did I?

“I guess we could at least hang out,” I said cautiously. I eyed him up and down. “I’m betting you could offer a lady a drink.”

The alien’s smile blossomed into a genuine smile now.

“I have many special beverages in my room,” he said. “And my ship is close.”

A funny little thrill twisted my stomach.

“Alright,” I said, forgetting my irritation. “Let’s go. I think the blitza has worn off. I could definitely use another drink.”

“Another drink is always an excellent idea,” the alien agreed. He offered me his arm, surprising me. “My lady?”

I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me, trying to be gallant, or if this was an actual custom on his home planet. I decided it didn’t matter and slid my hand into the crook of his elbow.

“Lead the way,” I said.

Chapter 5

Ellax

The blitza should not have worn off as quickly as it did, I thought, observing her from the corner of my eye as I led her towards my ship. She had acted like a female with sufficient blitza in her body to make her pliant and agreeable. Exactly how I liked my females. That she had been attracted to me was obvious. I had been with plenty of females, of many different species, including humans, to know when they were sleeping with me because of attraction or because of my rank and status.

This female, this human female, was acting on attraction. That, and, I surmised, the blitza was urging her to surrender and do something she normally would not do. From what I had garnered from our conversation, she had likely lived a quiet, sheltered sort of life there on Earth until her husband’s affairs had shattered her existence.

I did not think it was the beverage wearing off that had altered her mood as much as memories of her former husband. She was a woman angry at men who cheated in their relationships since she had been on the painful end of that.

She would not like you very much, a sober little voice spoke up.

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