Page 21 of Married to the Alien Mountain Man

It turned out to be very difficult for me to form words with Oaken’s big, strong hand so tenderly spanning the back of my neck like this. It was like he was casting some kind of spell on me.

A horny spell.

I did not appreciate it.

“Yes,” he said, a little huskily. “Very educational ones.”

Somewhere beyond the feverish bubble that Oaken’s proximity to me had created, I thought I heard Magnolia mutter, “Oh, boy.”

“Well, theyareeducational,” Tasha responded.

But if anyone else had anything to say on the matter, I didn’t hear it. The sound of my own breathing surged behind the crashing rhythm of my heart, like the wind behind waves, drowning out everything else. Oaken bent closer, his broad, dark green face filling my vision.

His cheekbones were sculpted as if from Old-Earth emerald, his jaw broad and sexy and square. His eyes were opalescent and bright, like starlight. Even his mouth was nice, I noticed with an irritated sort of appreciation. His lips were full, not so much that they were pouty, but enough that putting my own mouth there was going to feel very –

It wasn’t going to feel like anything!

Because none of this was real. None of this mattered at all.

But even so, I still found my hands rising to touch him. My right hand brushed the bulging muscle of his left shoulder, the other lying flat against his right cheek.

I mean, I was supposed to be giving him a little bit of practice for his future wife, wasn’t I? I couldn’t just stand there, stiff as a board, while he did all the work. He’d never even kissed someone before!

I’d already hit the poor guy with a hammer today. I didn’t need to be rude when he tried his darndest to kiss me. Right?

My eyes snagged on the dried blood on his head. I never got a chance to use the knitter on him, or even help clean up his split skin.

“Oaken,” I breathed. “Your head. I-”

The rest of my sentence was swallowed.

Not down my own throat.

But into Oaken’s mouth.

His lips touched mine, so exquisitely softly at first. A sweet, silken slide that had me pressing my mouth closer for more before I even realized I was doing it. I felt the leap of Oaken’s bare shoulder beneath my fingers, heard the ragged shudder of his sigh at my response. Hot breath skimmed my face. His other hand, that up until now had remained at his side, flew to my hip, long fingers squeezing. My nipples snapped to attention beneath my cropped tank top, and once again I became aware of an aching echo between my legs.

Oh, God. What the hell was this? Why was I getting this embarrassingly aroused from a kiss? The man was a virgin, for crying out loud! A big, green, alien virgin who had no fucking business getting me all hot and bothered just because he’d smooshed his cute, inexperienced lips up against mine.

But, fuck me, I was more than hot and bothered.

I was pathetic. With soaking wet panties, to boot.

But, apparently, no amount of shame or confusion or internal loathing for my own astounding horniness was enough to actually make me pull away from him. No, I only did that when I heard the damning click of Lala’s camera function.

“Lala,” I gasped, twisting in Oaken’s grip. “What are you taking a picture for?”

I didn’t even realize she’d left my pocket. She’d been curled up in there since lunch, preserving her battery while away from the ship.

“I am commemorating the culmination of your wedding ceremony,” she said coolly. And then, the camera behind her eye sensor snapped again.

“OK, that’s enough,” I huffed at her. I dropped my hands from Oaken’s body, expecting him to immediately do the same.

He didn’t. Not at first. His fingers – both the ones cradling the back of my head and the ones on my hip – spasmed, as if in protest. As if they wanted to keep me there.

His thumb stroked the pulsing place below my jaw again. Just like before, he did it only once. But unlike before, this time, it wasn’t a subtle, whispering touch that made me question if it had happened at all.

It was a hard, hungry drag of calloused skin against mine. Undeniably intentional.

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