Page 18 of The Alien Who Saved Christmas

“I’ll turn George down when he proposes.” Sadie promised dryly. “Don’t worry. He’s only got two measly arms, so he’s got no chance with a sought-after girl like me.”

Xane’s shoulders relaxed. “Only two? I could defeat such a man easily.”

Her maybe-husband could defeat anyone easily. MMA fighters would have run away from him in terror. It was very appealing.

Xane crouched down to grab a handful of some suspicious-looking gunk from the ground. Pulling up the fur-lined sleeve of Sadie’s robes, he began rubbing it into her skin.

That was way less appealing.

“Ew!” She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let her go. “Quit it, Xane! What are you doing?”

“I am disguising your scent.”

“But now I smell terrible!”

“Yes. That is the point. If you’re near other men, some of them will be able to tell you’re a woman. It would be a disaster.” He smeared her up with goo like he was applying sunscreen at the beach. “And you could never smell terrible, Sadie.”

She sniffed at herself and instantly regretted it. “Except I do .”

His eyes stayed focused on his work. “You usually smell better , but under the stench, you still smell like you. Honey and sex.”

Well, what do you know…? Sadie tilted her head, so she could look into his face. “I think you’re flirting with me.”

He met her eyes and then glanced away. “Rtaharions only speak the truth.”

“You’re speaking about how nice I smell. That’s flirting, big guy.”

“Any male would notice your scent is intoxicating.”

“You’re the first male to bring it up, actually.”

“We are married, so I notice it the most. It is my right.”

Their supposed marriage was still a touchy subject for her. “You know, just because you think we’re married, doesn’t mean we are.”

“Just because you think we’re not married, doesn’t mean we aren’t.”

Sadie ignored that smug retort and went back to brainstorming her plan.

It was way safer. She needed to remember the plot of Ocean’s 11 .

The Frank Sinatra version of that movie was set on New Year’s Eve, right?

She’d never seen it, but that counted as a holiday film.

Holiday films were always the best. Too bad no one robbed a casino in Home Alone , because she’d watched that like forty times.

Anyhow, she’d for sure seen the George Clooney version of Ocean’s 11 .

That would do for inspiration. Pretending to be rich was a huge part of George’s big heist. She was almost completely sure.

How could she fake being a high-roller? Maybe they could sell something to finance that part of the ruse.

“Do we own anything rare?” She asked, after a moment of deep thought.

Xane wasn’t done flirting. “Your hair is the color of the sky in my homeland. There is nothing else in the universe like it.”

“Really?” She reached up to pull one ordinary brown curl in front of her eyes. “Is it valuable?” The Gift of the Magi was doable. Did aliens need hair extensions, maybe?

His eyes widened in genuine horror. “I would sooner die than sell one strand.”

“Good Lord… It’s just hair.”

“It’s my mate’s hair!”

Was that sweet or just nuts? Either way, Xane didn’t sound like he was willing to help her shave her head, and they didn’t have time to argue about it. “So, how else can we get some money, then? We need to pretend to belong in the casino, which means having cash.”

Xane sighed and glanced around. “Wait here.” He ordered. “I will get you some money, if you wish.”

“Okay.”

“I am in earnest, Sadie.” One of his many clawed fingers pointed straight at her nose. “ Do nothing dangerous .”

“I said okay!”

He glowered down at her, trying to will her into some kind of further compliance.

Sadie smiled cheerily.

“No.” Xane shook his head, not buying her expression. “If I let you out of my sight, you’ll vanish. It is inevitable. You will just have to watch me get the money and strive to remain unafraid.” It was an order.

“You’re being paranoid. I could never be afraid of you.”

“You could.” He grumbled darkly. “And I would not wish that.” His face was set in dispirited lines. “But I cannot risk your safety, even if it means garnering your fear.” A pause. “If I frighten you, will you give me a chance to win back your trust? Or will you seek another husband today?”

“I’m not trading you for anybody else, Xane.” Without even thinking about it, Sadie stood on tiptoe and kissed his downturned mouth. “Not when I’ve almost convinced you to be on a team with me.”

Xane froze in place, the same way Sadie would have frozen if she’d been unexpectedly dropped into the driver’s seat of a Formula One racer. He knew what kissing was ; he’d just never expected to participate in it. He tensed, like he was anticipating disaster.

Sadie took that as a direct challenge. She’d only intended to give him a quick, playful peck. But now it occurred to her that she was aiming too small. Why shouldn’t she kiss her maybe-husband just how she wanted to? She should get some perks for being a maybe-wife, right?

Her fingers dug into the gigantic muscles of his arms, balancing on her tiptoes to reach his mouth.

Xane sucked in a dazed breath, as Sadie’s lips found his in a longer kiss. That obviously gave her the opportunity to brush her tongue against his. It was rougher than hers. That was weirdly arousing. Sadie gave it an experimental lick, dazzled by the sensation.

A low groan escaped Xane, rumbling in his massive chest. Oh yeah.

Now he got it. And then he was all in, foot smashed down on the accelerator, and zooming towards glory.

Following her lead, he deepened the kiss, his own tongue surging into her mouth.

The taste of him was like nothing else in the universe.

Hot, and sweet, and magical. Her core clenched, and she clutched him even harder, wanting to get closer. Wanting everything he’d give her.

Xane was chained, so she didn’t want to take advantage of him, but he sure wasn’t struggling to get away from her. In fact, the man was now driving the kiss. His lips slid over hers, trying slightly new angles and clearly enjoying them all. He seemed enraptured.

And aroused. Really, really aroused.

Xane moved forward, pressing against her body. He was so big and hard and big that it startled Sadie out of her happy haze of passion. Apparently, their species were anatomically compatible, because she could now feel a lot of him. And none of her boyfriends had ever felt like that .

Sadie jerked back with a surprised gasp.

Xane stared down at her, breathing hard. “Are you sure about me, yet?” He got out roughly.

It didn’t take an alien translator to know what he was asking. “We’re not having sex in a creepy alleyway, Xane!”

Although the idea wasn’t nearly as shocking as it should’ve been.

The man was huge, but that wasn’t frightening.

Just kind of unexpected. Being caught off guard was her own fault.

Of course he’d be built to scale. Now that she’d gotten over the initial jolt, she was willing to embrace the challenge.

Just --ya know-- later . When they weren’t standing around in public, and she didn’t stink to high heaven, and she’d shaved her legs sometime in the previous month.

Sadie retreated a step, trying to get a hold of herself. “We need to focus on the plan.” She decided, resisting the urge to touch her lips.

Wow, that was a good kiss! Come to think of it, this outing could count as a second date, if she were feeling generous. And she was feeling all kinds of generous.

“Um… What were we doing?” She swallowed. “Oh, right! Money! We have to find some money.”

Xane nodded, his gaze intense and centered on her mouth. “Find money.” He repeated in a dazed tone.

Some random alien with droopy ears and a fancy tunic wandered past the opening of their alleyway.

Without even looking the guy’s way, Xane’s bound hands lashed out and grabbed the big-eared being by the collar.

Half a second later, he’d bashed the alien’s head on the side of the stucco building, and the well-dressed stranger was unconscious on the ground.

Sadie blinked in astonishment.

Xane muttered an alien curse, like he hadn’t expected the guy to pass out so easily. He stooped down to pluck a pouch from the man’s belt and plunked it into her hand. “I found some money.” He said, not quite meeting her eyes.

Well, no wonder he’d worried about scaring her. He was capable of knocking someone out cold with a flick of the wrist. It had all happened so fast and with so little effort that nobody else at the casino had even noticed. If Xane wanted to hurt Sadie, she’d be dead in an instant.

Luckily, that was the last thing the big guy wanted.

He was pessimistic and grouchy about everything…

except their marriage. Being her maybe-husband lightened his perpetually grim mood.

But when she’d backed away from him, he’d let her retreat from the kiss without question.

Keeping Sadie safe was all that mattered to Xane.

She suddenly and completely believed it.

“Good job.” She told him.

He shifted a shoulder in an uncomfortable motion. Frustration radiated off of him in waves. “Violence is an innate skill of my people. Even for those of us who prefer ranching.”

“I meant with the kissing part. I think it might be another of your innate skills, because you did a super-good job at it.”

Turquoise eyes slammed into hers in surprise.

Sadie smiled at him. “I could never be afraid of you.” She reiterated. “Rtaharions are innately skilled at violence, but never towards their cute human teammate. Admit it. I’m right.”

He exhaled heavily, not adjusting her pronunciation. Either she’d finally said the word how he liked, or he was beyond correcting her. “Rtaharions let our actions speak, not our words. But I will admit that you’re partially right. I could never harm my cute human wife .”

Sadie arched a brow, flirting a little bit herself. “ Maybe -wife.”

Something warmed in his expression. Something that she couldn’t quite decipher, but it made her insides flip. “Only-wife.” He murmured.