Page 61 of The Alien Who Saved Christmas
“Caring.” He sounded disgruntled. “It tells me that even a slight risk to you is unacceptable. Emotions make a far more compelling case than my mind does.”
“Same for me! Except my emotions tell me, I have to do everything possible to keepyousafe.” Her own “caring emotions” were growing deeper all the time. She didn’t need self-reflection to feel them filling her heart. “I guess that’s whatmakes us such a great team. And by the way… thisfor surecounts as a third date.”
His eyes locked on hers. “I have achieved three of the dried fruits?”
“Fruit?” It took her a second to translate what he meant. “Ohdates! No, I mean ‘dates’ like romantic outings. So far we’ve been to a bar and a casino. Now we’re taking a moonlit stroll. All very classic, respectable dates. Hell, I’ll even give you extra points and count this as a trip to the beach. I mean, we’ve got sand. That’s close enough.”
“When I achieve three dates, we have sex.” He reminded her, not very interested in what the word meant, just what it got him.
“Not until after the jailbreak, big guy.”
He made an impatient sound. “But what if I perish during the attack?” It was very nearly a whine. “Then, I will get no sex, at all.”
“Try to survive.” She patted his arm. “I’m really hot for your body.”
His jaw locked, and he looked back towards the guard tower. “Give me four minutes.” He finally decided. “Then, I’ll open the gate to the mines, and you can follow me into the tower. Don’t worry about being seen. Everyone else will be dead.”
“In four minutes? How are you going to kill all those guards infour minutes?”
“I am hot for your body, too.”
Chapter Seventeen
I’m dreaming of a black hole Christmas,
In the depths of outer space.
Where the starlight twinkles and space-time wrinkles,
Let’s disappear without a trace.
From “I’m Dreaming of a Black Hole Christmas”
A Christmas Carol for Non-Earthlings by Sadie Malone
A guard crashed through the window of the tower, his arms helplessly pin-wheeling in the air, and Sadie understood why football coaches told players not to have sex before the big game.
Sexual frustration was an amazing motivator.
Xane was ripping through the guards like a weed-whacker in a garden. It was almost unfair. Even outnumbered and outgunned, no one was able to slow him down. For a guy who likedgratmyrrranching, he was one hell of a brawler.
Sadie didn’t like standing by while Xane headed off alone. They were a team! But part of being a team was knowing their individual strengths, and fighting wasn’t her individual strength. At least she didn’t think it was. She’d never tried it before. Still, it seemed likely that she’d just get in his way.
Xane was wiping out guards at a rate she could never hope to match. He was well ahead of his four-minute schedule, and pretty much everyone was already dead. She could tell, because the gates to the blue salt mines began to creak open.
Lord C’don dashed forward, ready to save his son. She was a little shocked that the duckling was finally doing his part. She’d told Xane he would, but secretly she hadn’t been positivehe had the balls to follow through. But he ran into the mine, Elf’s key clutched in his feathered hand.
Then it was Sadie’s turn.
Finally!
She headed towards the guard tower, fully trusting that Xane had the situation under control. Metal steps led to the small room on top. She jogged up them, eager to get to Xane. Bursting into the room, she looked around the decimated space. A lot of dead aliens and broken furniture and one annoyed-looking husband.
Sadie smiled, and bounded over to kiss him. “You okay, sweetie?”
He grunted, looking irritated. “I am fine.”
“You sure? You seem even more grouchy than usual.”
