Page 54 of The Alien Who Saved Christmas
Sadie gave a squeak of alarm, but she didn’t seem upset by the explosion. Instead, she laughed and shimmied back up his body, one of her palms still milking every last drop from him. “Yeah, you like me.” She teased.
“My gods…” That was all he could get out. His chest heaved, trying to regain his breath. Sadie settled against him,and all four of his hands petted her body, admiring how wet and messy he’d made her. “That was… miraculous.
“It was. But, I’m going to need another shower.” Sadie leaned up to press her lips to his.
Xane gave a lazy murmur of agreement. “Later.” His mouth found hers, enjoying the gentleness of the kiss and the sense of connection he felt. For the first time in his life, he was utterly content.
What they’d just done hadn’t been about simple sexual release. Maybe it was his first time with a flesh-and-blood partner, but he still knew this was much, much more. Special. The sensation in his chest and the certainty in his mind could not be caused by any other woman, man, or robot.
“See?” Sadie arched a playful brow. “Rtaharions just need some hands-on learning opportunities, and they’re star pupils.”
Xane’s mouth curved. She’d been right about caring. Hedidfeel it. He felt so much for this woman that it fundamentally changed the person he’d been before. He’d assumed the new sensations bombarding him were because he’d acquired a wife. Since boyhood, he’d longed for a woman of his own, and now he had one. Of course he would be pleased.
But that was too simple an explanation for the morass inside of him, and all the stupid things he’d been doing to make Sadie happy, and the fact he was wholly uninterested in ever having anyone else as his “teammate.” It wasn’t just a wife that he coveted. It washiswife.
It was Sadie.
And that realization didn’t feel like Weakness.
Chapter Fifteen
The first neb-u-la,
The spacemen did say,
Was to certain poor astronauts,
In galaxies far ‘way.
From “The First Nebula”
A Christmas Carol for Non-Earthlings by Sadie Malone
“I don’t see whyIhave to engage in the actual on-the-ground rescuing.” Lord C’don muttered. “With my breeding and intelligence, it would be far better if I stayed back here, in an advisory role.”
“We’re going into the blue salt mine and savingyour son.” Sadie reminded him.
“Vipri prefer the term ‘heir’ for our offspring.” Lord C’don informed her in a snotty tone. “It’s less… emotional.”
Even after they let him free of his cage, Lord C’don was difficult. His snooty attitude and constant complaints grated on her nerves. But at least he was cooperating. Kind of. He wanted off the planet, too, so he’d agreed to help them escape Corono just as soon as Sadie and Xane saved Jynn.
Emphasis on the “Sadie and Xane” part. Not him.Them. That was just not going to work.
She looked over at Xane, at a loss as to how to deal with the cowardly duckling.
He grunted, focused on the Christmas tree. It was clearly more interesting to him than Lord C’don’s meltdown. “This is your plan, wife.”
“Maybe-wife.”
Xane pretended not to hear that. “If it were up to me, the Vipri would still be in a cage. …Or buried in the desert.” He adjusted one of the food pill “gingerbread cookie” decorations a quarter-inch to the left and then leaned back to admire the aesthetic effect. “This bush begins to make sense to me. It’s like aranotioffering on the moon of Gardoni.”
Sadie slanted him a sideways look. Post-second-date, almost-sex had put Xane in a super good mood. It was kind of unnerving. “Offering?”
He nodded. “You said humans place gifts under the branches, yes? Offering!”
“I mean… we exchange gifts with each other, but it’s to show affection, not be an offering. In my family, we woke up on Christmas and opened presents. Then we had a big breakfast and…”
“You saidtodayis Christmas.” He interrupted with a sudden worried frown. “We did not put presents under the bush.”
