Page 10 of The Alien Who Saved Christmas

Lost in space, for a long time,

But with you, it’s all primetime.

We’re stuck here tonight, but that seems alright,

Floating in a cosmic Wonderland.

From “Floating in a Cosmic Wonderland”

A Christmas Carol for Non-Earthlings by Sadie Malone

Xane had endured a very strange day, and the night had been even stranger.

He’d woken up in the desert earlier, hours after collapsing from the castr extract.

A listing tent of blankets and sticks had been erected over his prone body, presumably to protect him from the elements.

It was so utterly ridiculous that, for a moment, all he’d been able to do was blink up at it in confusion.

Why would anyone build such a bizarre thing?

And who would put a pillow beneath his head?

Xane had never slept with a pillow in his life.

Especially not one that smelled like spiced honey and warm woman.

He didn’t even know any women…

At that point, memories rushed back. Gray eyes, perfect lips, and rampant insanity.

Xane had sat bolt upright, looking around for Sadie Mal-Own.

He’d sensed almost instantly that she wasn’t there.

It was like he could feel her absence in the air.

He’d seen no indications that anyone had stolen her, which meant she’d probably left on her own.

That caused a flood of dread, as he’d imagined all the places she could be and all the disasters she could be causing.

Two seconds later, he’d been on his feet and heading back towards town.

Just as he’d suspected, she’d been up to no good.

When he’d found her at that damn bar, the aggravating little female was about to die at the hands of a dozen criminals.

Her wide smile and carefree chatter confirmed that she’d possessed little to no awareness of her precarious situation.

She’d sung happy songs, seemingly oblivious to the roomful of men who were plotting to gang-rape her.

About that time, Xane’s suspicions that she harbored dark motives had completely faded away.

Sadie-Mal-Own wasn’t plotting some elaborate ruse.

Sadie-Mal-Own was a lunatic.

And beautiful.

Gods, she was beautiful. With the drugs mostly gone from his system and her Lythion robes removed, Xane had finally been able to view her clearly.

It had been hard to focus on her baffling words, because he’d been so distracted by her generous breasts and incredible hair.

He’d never seen anyone with hair the color of Rtaharion’s skies before. The rich brown shade was extraordinary.

And no female he’d ever beheld had a body like hers.

Not even in the dirtiest holo-vids. Sadie-Mal-Own’s bountiful curves would have turned heads on the richest planets in the galaxy.

He’d been entirely serious when he said powerful men would beg for her.

She was achingly sweet and built to pleasure a man, with a smile brighter than the two suns.

It was a total mystery how she’d survived this long.

Sadie-Mal-Own had been bred with no thought towards self-defense.

The males of her “Earth” must be the toughest sons-of-bitches in the universe.

Women like Sadie-Mal-Own were too valuable to be unguarded.

Since the females of her planet had no ability to protect themselves, the men were surely charged with the thankless task.

That meant they must be ferociously powerful. There was no other explanation.

There certainly wasn’t a hint of toughness on the woman herself. Not a single hard angle or sharp claw. She was gentle.

She was helpless .

Instead of repelling him, Xane was oddly entranced by her softness.

He’d never encountered anyone soft before.

They didn’t tend to live long. It made no sense to be drawn to a vulnerable creature.

Sadie-Mal-Own’s future would no doubt be short and bleak.

He should feel nothing but pity for her. Instead, he felt… lust.

Incredible amounts of hot, possessive, desperate desire.

Xane wanted Sadie-Mal-Own’s thick curls clenched around his fingers.

He wanted to sleep with all four of his arms wrapped tightly around her, so no other male could steal her away.

He wanted to taste her lips beneath his own.

Kissing had always seemed pointless to him when he’d seen others do it.

With Sadie Mal-Own, though, he suddenly wanted to try the strange custom.

He wanted everything from her.

It was a perplexing reaction, considering the woman’s troublesome nature and her almost-certain looming death. The unexpected acquisition of a spouse was affecting his mind.

He tried to convince himself that this was not a Weakness.

Females were so rare that Xane had never really imagined having one of his own. Now that he’d somehow landed himself a woman, it was only logical that he’d desire her. It wasn’t as if he was in a position to be picky about a wife.

If he’d had more options, he would have chosen a warrior. Obviously, he would have. He was convinced of it. Totally sure of his own mind. He’d want a bride who was strong and big. Who could fight off attacks.

Only another woman wouldn’t have brown hair that made him think of home. And she wouldn’t look right into his eyes and grin like she wanted him to smile back. And she wouldn’t smell like warm honey and tangled bedding. There was no other woman like this one.

Xane’s eyes tracked his new mate as she fussed over the unconscious Vipri.

Sadie-Mal-Own would choose a different husband, once they were free of Corono.

He had no delusions about keeping her. But, for now, Xane held something very rare.

Something he’d never expected to have. That was why he felt this compulsion to both possess and protect her.

The novelty of her was what fascinated him. That had to be it.

His gaze lingered on the nape of her neck.

She’d pulled her thick curls up with a magically expanding purple band.

It must have been the height of technology on Earth, because he wasn’t sure how the stretchy fabric circle worked.

He heartily approved of the way it left a few loose tendrils dancing around her shoulders. They were hypnotizing.

“I think you killed the duckling.”

The accusation jarred Xane from his thoughts. “What?”

Sadie-Mal-Own was endlessly concerned about the Vipri. It was vexing. “He isn’t waking up.” She sent Xane a frown. “Maybe he’s dying.”

“He will recover.” Xane leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. “Eventually.”

She sat back with a sigh, unconvinced. “Are you sure we have to put him behind bars? It seems cruel.”

“It’s for our protection.” Xane had appropriated one of the Lythions’ cages to contain the Vipri. Hopefully, it was sturdy enough to hold the little bastard. “If he wakes in the night, he could kill us in our sleep. His kind are endlessly treacherous.”

She rolled her eyes, like she did not believe that incontrovertible fact. “He’s going to be upset if he thinks he’s a prisoner." She predicted. “He might not want to help us.”

If need be, Xane would make the creature help, but he saw no profit in telling her that. The woman was very soft-hearted. “We will explain things to him, when he awakens.”

“ If he awakens.” She sounded gloomy. “If he dies, what are we going to tell the other one?”

“Other one? What other one?”

“The other Vespa!”

“Vipri.”

“That’s what I said. And I told you, there are two of them.”

He shrugged. “One should be sufficient.” It took two people to fly a Class H-77 Cruiser, but Xane was certain he could figure out the copilot controls. How difficult could it be to manage if a Vipri did it?

His new mate looked aghast. “We can’t leave the other duckling behind! I saw them at the auction. They adore each other.”

Xane tried and failed to see why that mattered.

“We’re saving both of them, Xane.” She rose to her feet, chewing on her bottom lip. “Honestly, I would like to rescue all the slaves imprisoned here. We should try to do that, before we go.”

He squinted.“Why?”

“Why free slaves?” She blinked at him. “Because it’s the right thing to do.”

“How will it help your plan?”

“I don’t think it will. But it’s the right thing to do .” She stressed the words, as if that would somehow make them less ludicrous. “You want to leave people chained up and imprisoned? At Christmastime?”

Dear gods… Xane pinched the bridge of his nose. “I wish to have sex, now.” He reported in a long-suffering tone, moving on from this nonsense.

Her berry-colored lips parted in astonishment. “You want to…? No! We can’t have sex!” She sputtered, shocked out of her moralizing. “I just met you today!”

“I doubt very much you will live through tomorrow, so I would prefer to move quickly.” Her idiotic ideas would kill them both very soon. There was just no doubt about it.

“I’m not having sex with you tonight, Xane.” Her delicate skin was flushed. He didn’t know why, but it further stirred his desire. “I get that you think we’re married somehow…”

“We are married. You said you chose me.”

“That doesn’t count.”

His gut tightened, even though he’d expected this.

“You wish to choose another?” He asked flatly.

“Who?” He had the fleeting thought that he would kill the man.

It was against the Unified Law and punishable by never-ending execution, but he was willing to risk it. No one was taking his new wife.

Gray eyes blinked up at him, filled with mysteries he’d never understand. “No.” She whispered. “I don’t wish to choose anyone else.”

Relief flooded through him. “Then you remain married to me.” Simple, unequivocal, and beyond debate.

Except, with Sadie-Mal-Own, nothing was simple, and she delighted in debating the unequivocal.