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BEAR

Bear was glad to see how happy Aleena was as they left her mother’s house. It was more of a hovel, actually in a run-down section of the city that might once have been nice but now was going to ruin. He thought about finding a new place for her mother right away…but she could always just move in with Aleena once he had gone back to the Mother Ship. He fully intended to buy the house outright they were renting and leave it in her name along with plenty of money so she could live in style.

But the thought of leaving his curvy little wife made a knot form in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t help picturing her face from the night before when she was so upset—her big eyes filled with tears. He didn’t want to see that look on her face again—and he most certainly didn’t want to be responsible for making her cry.

Can’t be helped, a little voice whispered in his head. You know you can’t keep her—you can’t break your vow. You’ll have to leave her here, no matter how much you want her.

He pushed the thought aside, but it was getting harder and harder to put such ideas to the back of his head. The negotiations were complicated but they couldn’t last forever. Eventually he was going to have to face the truth…and face Aleena when he admitted that he wanted to disavow her after all…

“My Bear, are you well?” Aleena asked anxiously, drawing him away from his unhappy future and back to the present. They were sitting at the dinner table, having finished a delicious meal that she’d cooked just for him after their visit to her mother.

“Er…yes, of course, sweetheart.” He tried to smile at her. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you went quiet and your face looks like a thundercloud about to rain,” she said. Reaching out, she placed one hand on his. “Is there any way I can cheer you up? Perhaps tonight, I can give you a bath as you gave me one the night before.”

Bear felt his shaft begin to harden at once. Gods, she was such an alluring, curvy little Elite!

“What if we take a bath together and wash each other?” he growled. “I think the tub is big enough if we’re careful.”

Her cheeks went dark with a blush and she looked up at him from under her long lashes.

“I think that sounds perfect. Let me just clear the table and we’ll go.”

“We’ll clear the table together. Or better yet, I’ll clear it and you go run the bath,” Bear told her.

Her eyes went wide.

“But you are a man! You shouldn’t do women’s work!”

“You cooked the meal, so I’ll clean up,” Bear said firmly. “It’s not women’s work—it’s everyone’s work. We both live here and eat here—we both need to clean.”

It took a moment to convince Aleena of this but finally she went up the grand staircase to the master bathing suite to draw them a bath.

Bear cleared the table, anticipating being naked with her again…and trying not to think of their inevitable parting in the future.