“What purpose do these serve?”
She shrugs. “Besides giving my brother something to tease me about when we were kids? Nothing.”
I growl when I hear that a male, especially her brother who should protect her at all costs, would tease her. “I must show your brother some manners.”
Her eyes widen.
She doesn’t understand what I mean by teach. “I’m accustomed to giving lessons ingoodbehavior. I have three younger brothers. All have survived my lessons,” I add, so she understands I would never harm anyone without true cause, especially no one important to her.
“Jack died a long time ago. The Coalition executed him.”
I pull her against me. “Forgive me.”
“You couldn’t know.” Her lush body remains pressed against me, but my cocks do not rise. In this moment, she needs comfort. As I hold her, my body calms.
Bliss. Simple, pure bliss.Thisis what it is to have a heartmate.
When she covers her mouth, struggling to hold back a yawn, I scoop her up in my arms.
“What are you doing?” she asks as her arms cling to my neck.
“You need sleep.”
“And you thought you’d carry me to my bed?”
“That is the place to sleep, yes?”
“I’m not ready for bed.”
“Ah, yes. You should strip out of your clothes.”
The corners of her mouth rise, lifting her cheeks and placing a sparkle in her eyes. “This negligee is for bed, but I’m not sleepy. I need something to, um, tire me out.”
“I have a solution for that…”
KENZIE
Finally,we’re on the same page!
The butterflies in my stomach crash into each other at supersonic speed. Putting on a negligee, the only one I own, instead of the usual oversized t-shirt I sleep in, is my way of saying I’d like to have a physical relationship with him. I’ve never seduced an alien before. Or a human. Or had a one-night stand.
“Can we talk for a bit? There’s so much to process. The grud, the explosion, you being an alien. I’m a bit overwhelmed.”
My stomach chooses that moment to growl despite the butterflies. “Maybe I should get us some fruit.”
When I move to get out of bed, he pins me with a stare. “You stay. Rest.”
“I’m not the one who’s injured.”
“You have a bump on your head,” he says as he leaves the bedroom.
True. And I was unconscious, so it’s possible I have a concussion, but I feel fine.
Kobrik returns with a plate of fruit. He cut the skin off the orangeandthe grapes.
“Thank you.” He sits beside me on the edge of the bed. “I heard you talking to that major earlier. What did he say about the explosion?”
“It will be awhile before they determine the cause. But I already know why it blew up.”
