Page 11 of Her Alien Soldier (Asterion Station #1)

X arek lay awake for a while, holding Maggie’s sleeping, soft, warm body in his arms, listening to her soft breaths and the contented little noises she made in her rest. Her scent was everywhere here, surrounding him.

He never wanted this moment to end, he realized, and the realization was like being bashed upside the head.

He didn’t want to be anywhere else. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he wasn’t longing for home, for the cozy house and tranquil garden, which had been destroyed long ago.

He wasn’t wishing for a day at the shore, the waves of the clear, cool sea lapping at the white sand beach.

To be surrounded by people speaking his native tongue, hearing their raucous, joyful laughter.

Laughter that had long been battled out of them.

Or so he’d thought. His time with Maggie had proven that what he’d thought was long dead was merely lying dormant, waiting for something to be joyful about.

He looked at the curvy, beautiful human sleeping so peacefully in his arms. And he could think only one word: Mine.

He closed his eyes tightly. He had no business here. No business thinking of her that way. It was too easy to lose himself in her, to feel this desperate need to stay by her side. There was still a war to be won. And his work would not end after that was over, if it was soon to be over at all.

She made it easy to forget himself. To forget that he was bound by duty. To forget what a failure he’d been as a lover and partner. To forget that his entire purpose was to charge headlong into battle, with no guarantee that he’d survive the day.

He opened his eyes and looked at Maggie again, sleeping peacefully in his arms.

And for the first time in his life, he wished he was a different kind of person.

He held Maggie tightly, finally closing his eyes again and allowing himself to rest with her. For now, he could have this, and he would be grateful for every moment.

He woke up to the sensation of a soft body curled against his, a warm mouth kissing along his chest… a teasing tongue flicking at one of his dark purple nipples.

And then the scrape of teeth against that same nipple, drawing a desperate, ragged groan of pleasure from him.

“Now I know. I was wondering if they were sensitive or not,” Maggie said, laughter in her voice.

He opened his eyes and hardened even more at the sight of her.

Dark hair tousled with sex and sleep, green eyes sparkling as she smiled at him, resting her chin softly on his chest as one fingertip toyed with one nipple and her hair tickled the other.

“Very sensitive,” he grunted as she dragged a fingernail across the one she was teasing. “Careful or you’re going to need another warm cloth…”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, Xarek,” she answered, and that was all it took to flip her onto her back with a cry of surprise from her, spread her legs, and then bury his face between her shapely, creamy thighs.

Her whimpers and sighs and moans were music to his ears, her soft thighs clamped desperately around his head as his tongue plunged into her delectable center, as his nose pressed against that sweet little bud that had given her so much pleasure the night before.

He lapped at her noisily, groaning as he devoured her.

She fell apart for him once, twice, crying out, trembling, her fingers gripping his hair in a way that only made him want more.

Her thighs trembled around his head, and the more he tasted her, the more greedily he licked and sucked and nibbled, until she was crying out through a third orgasm, begging him, telling him she couldn't take any more.

He took mercy on his delectable little bartender. This time, at least.

He pulled back, kissing her thighs, nuzzling her sensitive slit with his nose as she panted and whimpered. When he looked up at her, he nearly roared in victory.

She was stunning. Pale, creamy skin flushed pink with pleasure, eyes dazed, lips plump. Her dusky pink nipples were pebbled with arousal as she lay back on the pillows, staring at him with deep satisfaction in her gaze.

He crawled up, holding himself up over her beautiful body, lowering his lips to hers and kissing her deeply.

“Stay right there. I will get you breakfast and tea,” he murmured against her mouth, and she smiled as she watched him walk out of her bedroom, firm, muscular ass flexing with each heavy step.

By late afternoon, they’d had breakfast, tea, pastries, two more rounds of noisy, mind-shattering sex, and had watched the first season of an earth science fiction show about people on a spaceship lost far from home.

Was this how people actually lived? It hit him, as they shared the soup and warm rolls she’d made for dinner, cuddled against each other at her kitchen counter, that people actually just… did this.

Lived.

Shared quiet moments that didn’t matter to anyone else, but mattered very much to the two of them.

Even as he enjoyed his time with Maggie, an undercurrent of anger simmered. He’d never really lived. Almost his entire adult life had been spent at war. Decades taken from him by the Redlian Empire.

He’d never had moments like these. But he also knew he could only blame the Redlians so much. There were times he could have adored Avixia, his almost-spouse, the way he adored Maggie. Lavished her with attention, made her feel happy and wanted. And he hadn’t.

He looked over at Maggie. His, that little voice in his mind, that leftover mating instinct, whispered to him. Whether that was true or not, he was glad he could be better for her than he’d been for Avixia.

Hopefully, he would not foul it up.