Page 23 of The Alien Who Saved Christmas
“I mean… I’m trying to be open-minded about alien cultural norms.” She went on, ignoring his very logical pronouncement. “But my brain only opens so far. Inmyculture, things just don’t move that fast. We have to wait to have sex.”
“Until when?”
“We need-- like-- at least three dates.”
His translator told Xane “dates” were some kind of dried fruit. “Why does it matter that we have these things?”
“Because we need to be sure.”
“Be sure of what?”
“Each other.” She nodded, and brown curls bounced.
Xane’s mouth went dry, watching her magical hair glint. Her perplexing words faded from his mind, along with all rational thought. Gods, he wanted this woman. He had never been so sure ofanything.
If she was a Weakness, it no longer mattered to him.
“We need to be sure this is what we want.” His tempting little bride went on, with no apparent comprehension of how precarious her situation really was.
Xane tried to find words that wouldn’t scare her. It went against his nature, but now she seemed confused and wary. He didn’t like that. “I am sure that I will never have another woman but you.” No one else would ever choose him. Ever. “I am sure that I have no wish to waste any of my nights with the only female I will ever have. Mysurenessof you is immense.”
She frowned a bit. “You’ve never… um… been with a woman before?”
“No.”
“Likenever?”
He tilted his head, not wishing to lie. “Are you counting robots as women?”
“No.”
“Then never.”
“Have you been with men?”
“No, just robots.”
“So you’re a virgin?”
Xane shrugged, uninterested in debating the philosophical nuances of robotic sexuality.
“Oh.” Sadie mauled her lower lip. It was like she sought ways to torture him. “Well, wanting to experience sex isn’t really a good enough reason to sleep with me.”
“I can’t think of a better one.”
“Liking me. That would be a good reason.”
“I am your husband. I would die for you. Is that not sufficient?”
That seemed to surprise her. “You would die for me?” She edged forward, closer to him.
Xane made himself stay still, so he didn’t frighten her into retreat. “Of course. It is my duty, Sadie-Mal-Own.”
Just as it was his duty to help her with her plan to escape Corono. It made more sense for him to try and keep her here. Here she was dependent on him. Here he had a chance to hold her far longer. But it was not safe for her on this planet, and so he had to get her off of it, as soon as possible.
“‘Sadie.’” She whispered. “I told you, it’s just ‘Sadie.’”
His eyebrows compressed. “You said you were named ‘Sadie-Mal-Own.’”
