Page 34 of The Alien Who Saved Christmas
Sadie arched a brow at Lord C’don and upped the ante. “Can the other Vipri fly? The one you were with yesterday? Because, we can rescue him, too.”
Thatfocused Lord C’don’s attention. “You would help me save my offspring?” He asked in a way less aggrieved tone.
“The other Vipri is your baby?” Sadie gasped in horror.
“Jynn is an adult,clearly, but yes. He’s my heir. He was taken to the blue salt mines.” Feathery hands gripped the bars, in sudden desperation. “If you were to help him, I would be forever in your debt.”
Xane glanced Sadie’s way. “We are not rescuing prisoners from the blue salt mines.” He warned.
Sadie frowned at him. “It’s the right thing to do. Even if we didn’t need Jynn, we can agree that freeing slaves is…”
“No.”
“Just for argument’s sake, let’s think about…”
“No.”
She huffed out an aggravated breath at his stubborn interruptions. “Do you have a better idea on our next move?”
“Yes.Notrescuing prisoners from the blue salt mines. That is my idea, and it isfarsuperior to your scheme, because it does not end in certain death.”
“I don’t have a ‘scheme.’ I just want to brainstorm the possibility of maybe…”
“No.”
Sadie’s mouth tightened in annoyance.
“Together, Jynn and I can fly this ship.” Lord C’don chimed in urgently. “All you have to do is save him, and we can all be free of this wretched place.” He turned pleading eyes at Xane. “Please, Rtaharion. You have a woman, but you know how difficult it is for the rest of us to have offspring. It took all the scientific advancements of my people to create enough children to sustain our kind. Jynn is my noble line’s future.”
Xane shook his head, unmoved. His attention stayed on Sadie. “We do not need two Vipri. This man is our hostage…”
“Guest.”
He kept talking, ignoring her hasty correction. “…so, he will teach one of us how to copilot or suffer the consequences.”
“I won’t leave this planet without my heir!” Lord C’don interrupted hotly. “Nothing you do will change my mind!”
Xane’s eyes narrowed, and he started forward, as if willing to take up that challenge.
Sadie quickly darted in front of him. “Hang on.” She flashed Lord C’don her best customer-service smile over her shoulder. “Just give us a sec, okay?” She grabbed one of Xane’s many hands. “Come here, alien.” She dragged him out of the room, so they could finish this discussion without the duckling listening in. They needed to present a united front to their hostage/guest.
“You are as much an alien here as I am.” Xane objected, as she hustled him away. “More. At least my people know this planet exists. That is beyond what your species can boast.”
For all his complaints though, he didn’t try to escape her grasp. Sadie’s fingers couldn’t even fully encircle his huge wrist, but Xane still allowed her to pull him into the control room.
“We are not murdering someone on Christmas morning.” She told Xane sternly, gesturing towards their lovingly decorated tree/bush.
He didn’t respond. His turquoise eyes were fixed on her fingers, which were still resting on his skin. She doubted he was captivated by her chipped-up, candy-cane-patterned manicure.
He was captivated by her touch.
Instead of pulling back, her fingers caressed his arm, admiring his muscle tone. He was delightfully warm. Like, way warmer than humans. She wanted to run her hands all over him… No. Hang on. Sadie needed to stop before she began stripping the guy’s clothes off.
She wasn’t totally sure how this insta-marriage deal worked, but she knew she was incredibly aroused by her new maybe-husband. His eyes and his body and his gentleness when he touched her. She was having all kinds of fantasies about the man.
It was way too early for them to have sex. Sadie was a respectable girl, so they needed to wait until at least the third date. She was serious about that. Of course, she was also super-attracted to Xane, so she was willing to be generous on what qualified as a “date” on an alien planet.
She’d added up their various interactions every which way, but she only counted one date, so far. The Lego bar had been drinks and karaoke. That totally equaled a date, in her mind. But their meet-cute at the slave auction wasnotmaking the cut. No way. Sex would have to wait until she got two more distinct outings.
