The Nanny and the Alien Warrior by Honey Phillips

Chapter Fourteen

As much as Craxan would have liked to remain inside his mate, as soon as his knot subsided, he gently lifted her free. He washed her quickly, an awkward business in the tight space, but he did not mind and she voiced no objection.

“Let us find our daughter,” he said as soon as they were dressed.

“She’s still with Rissta. I joined them earlier but I was so nervous that she was starting to get worried.”

They found Tavi in the kitchen, cheerfully cutting out pieces of dough, but she rushed over to him as soon as they entered. He swung her up in his arms, and she kissed his cheek.

“You’re back. You’ve been gone forever and ever.”

“I am afraid I had a job to do.”

“But it’s done now? You’re not going away again?”

“Not permanently, but sometimes I will have to leave you while I work.”

“Father had to work a lot too,” she said sadly.

He saw Rissta shoot a look at him from under her brows, but he ignored her and concentrated on his daughter.

“I will be with you as much as I can,” he promised, resolving to start investigating the possibility of a training job immediately.

“And Mama too?”

“And Mama too.”

“Good. Do you want some of my bread?” She squirmed to be let down, then led him to the table.

“You made bread?”

“I did!”

“All by yourself?”

“Well, Miss Rissta helped a little.” Her big eyes sparkled up at him, and he hugged her again as she proudly presented him with a slice of bread.

“She has a talent for it,” Rissta admitted, then gave Joanna a thoughtful look. “Must take after her mother.”

“Thank you,” Joanna said calmly as she sat down with them.

Contentment filled him as they ate breakfast together. If every day could begin like this, he would be a happy male.

“I think I should go back and check on Suzanna now,” Joanna said as they finished.

“And I need to talk to Merios.”

“I’ll meet you back here later,” she promised as she kissed him. “Do you want to come with me, Tavi? We have a new passenger on board, and she has a baby.”

“A girl?” Tavi asked eagerly.

“I am afraid he is a male child,” he said solemnly.

“That’s too bad,” she sighed, and they all laughed as they went their separate ways.

He found Merios on the bridge, consulting with Hagrin.

“I was just going to send for you,” the captain said cheerfully, and Craxan’s suspicions flared.

“Why?”

“Slight change in plans. The ship is heading to Tyssia first.”

“Isn’t that uninhabited?”

Merios hesitated for a fraction of a second. “Yes. But my cousin has a station in orbit around it. I want to take the female and the child there.”

“To a space station? It does not seem like an appropriate environment for a female and a child.”

“I’m sure they won’t be there long. He will arrange transportation for them.”

He frowned at the captain. “You said we were going to Trevelor.”

“And we will. After Tyssia.” Merios shrugged. “Are you in a hurry?”

Was he? As much as he would like to prepare for their future, they were together now. “Perhaps not,” he admitted. “Although I was looking forward to larger quarters.”

“I might be able to arrange something.”

“You never said that there were larger cabins available.”

“We only made the deal for the small one.” The other male’s fangs glinted. “Are you really objecting?”

Object to the time spent snuggled together with his family in the tiny cabin? The forced proximity had brought them together. He had no complaints.

“No,” he admitted. “But some additional space would be nice.”

“There is a true family cabin across the hall from yours. I am willing to let you use it.”

“And what do you want from me in return?” he asked suspiciously.

Merios shook his head. “So suspicious. I am… grateful that you went back for the child.”

“I could not leave him.”

“No. But some males would. Take the cabin.”

“Very well. Thank you.”

“There is one more thing,” Merios added as Craxan turned to leave.

He sighed and turned back. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Jed informs me that Anaeus tried to leave the ship in Driguera. When I asked him, he said that he was trying to do some quick trading.” The captain tapped his claws absently on the console. “I don’t trust him—not that I ever did—but his recent behavior has been more concerning. He will be leaving the ship once we reach the station. I would like you to make sure that he does so peacefully, and with only his own belongings.”

“Is that all?”

“Of course.”

Merios was the picture of innocence, but Craxan decided the sooner they were off the ship the better. He suspected that the requests for his assistance would not stop as long as they were on board.

“And then Trevelor?”

“I said that was our ultimate destination.”

“No, it will be our next destination,” he said firmly.

“Very well. If you still wish to travel there, it will be our next stop.”

“Why would we not want to go there?”

“You never know.” Merios waved a casual hand. “Things can change.”

“They will not,” he said, and left the bridge before the captain made any more requests.

He headed for the exercise room, but found it empty.

Jed wasn’t in the engine room or the crew quarters either. Craxan finally tracked him down in the small recreation room at the back of the ship. He was sitting in a worn chair, his eyes focused on a bottle on the table in front of him, his thumb rubbing back and forth over his fingers.

“Thank you for looking after my family,” Craxan said as he sat down next to him.

“You’re welcome.” Jed’s eyes never left the bottle.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Craxan kept silent, and Jed sighed. “Everything.”

“That is comprehensive. Is it the female?”

“Yes,” he burst out. “Did you see her? I don’t mean to offend you, but when I met your mate, I decided that humans weren’t a very attractive species. But Suzanna is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. And her son is perfect.”

“That does not sound like everything is wrong,” he said mildly, suppressing his annoyance at Jed’s dismissal of his mate.

“But she was abused.” Jed’s eyes looked haunted. “By a Skaal. She is afraid of me.”

“The only way for her to grow less afraid is if she gets to know you. Which she cannot do if you are hiding in here.”

“I thought perhaps a drink would help. Would calm my nerves so that I could speak to her.”

He kept his face impassive. “And did it?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t taken a sip yet. Because that’s how it starts.”

“Can I help?”

“Yes.” Jed grabbed the bottle and thrust it at Craxan. “Take it away and don’t return it to me if I ask.”

“Very well.” He knew that it was no more than a symbolic gesture—alcohol was readily available on board—but if it would help his friend, then he would do what he could.

“Thank you.”

“My mate is with Suzanna. Do you want to go with me?”

“I…” Jed straightened his shoulders and nodded. “Yes.”

* * *

Joanna ledTavi back to Suzanna’s cabin and knocked quietly. She didn’t want to wake the other woman if she was sleeping.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Joanna.”

“Are you alone?”

“I have my daughter with me.”

There was a short pause, and then the door slid open. Suzanna looked down at Tavi, then back at her, frowning.

“You said your daughter was with you, but she’s far too old to be the result of—”

“She is the daughter of my heart,” Joanna said firmly. “May we come in, or would you prefer to be alone?”

“Come in. When I’m alone it’s too easy to think I’m still back there.”

Tavi had been standing silently next to Joanna, looking at Suzanna.

“You need a bath,” she said.

“Tavi, that’s rude.”

Suzanna bit her lip. “But it’s the truth. I’ve been thinking about it, but I just didn’t want to leave Adam. And… it was better to be dirty before.”

Joanna would have put her hand on the girl’s arm but she wasn’t sure if the touch would be welcome. “We can watch Adam, if you would like.”

The girl still hesitated. “Is the other snake man gone?”

“Do you mean Jed? I didn’t see him.”

Suzanna scowled. “He was lurking around outside the cabin. I told him to leave.”

“He was just trying to watch over you,” Joanna said gently.

“Well, I don’t want him anywhere near me. He’s too much like—” Her fierce expression faded, and she shivered. “Never mind. If you’ll watch the baby, I’ll take that shower.”

Tavi had already wandered over to the bench where Adam was sleeping. “He’s awfully little.”

“You were that little once too.” Joanna smiled at her. “Babies have to be little so that they fit in their mama’s tummies.”

“Do you have one in your tummy now?”

Joanna shook her head, trying not to think about the possibility. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. Suzanna opened her mouth, then glanced at Tavi and apparently reconsidered.

“I don’t suppose there are any more clothes on board?” she asked wistfully.

“Not really, but I can lend you something. It will probably be too big.”

“Better than being too small,” the girl snorted, looking down at her skimpy outfit.

“I guess so. I’ll be right back.”

Joanna returned to their cabin and retrieved one of the outfits Craxan had made. As much as she hated to give it up, it would be selfish not to share. She had to remind herself again when Suzanna made a face when she took it.

“It smells kind of funny.”

“I think it smells wonderful,” she said fiercely, knowing Craxan’s scent covered the cloth.

Suzanna bit her lip again. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Joanna forced herself to smile. “I know you didn’t. Now take your shower before this little one wakes up.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Tavi was still studying the baby intently. “He would be prettier if he had green skin like Papa.”

“I’m sure his mama loves him just the way he is, just like I love you just the way you are.”

She sat down on the bench and Tavi climbed into her lap, then patted her stomach. “Are you sure there’s no baby in there?”

“Pretty sure.”

“It would be nice to have a little sister. Maybe even a little brother. He doesn’t have to be green.”

“You never know what might happen,” she said as lightly as possible. “Now tell me about baking bread with Miss Rissta.”

Tavi launched into a long and somewhat convoluted story about her baking prowess, but they had moved on to other things before Suzanna finally emerged from the bathroom. Joanna couldn’t help a pang of envy. She had forgotten that the girl was so pretty. Her hair was long and dark, much more dramatic than Joanna’s ordinary brown, and she had startling blue eyes, accentuated by the navy fabric of her borrowed outfit. The outfit was too large, but the girl had tied some artful knots in the loose fabric so that it conformed to her slender figure.

“You look very nice,” she said, doing her best to sound sincere.

“It’s nice to be clean.” Adam made a little snuffling noise and Suzanna immediately focused on him “He’s going to be hungry soon.”

“Are you still feeding him?”

The girl gave a bitter laugh. “Not any more. Rulmat didn’t want me that involved. But I was so desperate to get him away from there, I didn’t think about what he was going to eat.”

“We should go see Rissta. She’s the cook, and I’m sure she can think of something.”

“Leave the cabin?”

“You will have to if you want food—for Adam and for yourself,” she explained as patiently as possible.

“Miss Rissta is a great cook,” Tavi told her. “She’s teaching Mama.”

“You’re working as a cook?” Suzanna looked appalled.

“There aren’t exactly a lot of jobs for college professors out here,” she snapped, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s just rather a sensitive subject.”

“Umm, okay. I guess it’s better than—” Fortunately, Suzanna didn’t continue. Instead, she reached down and picked up Adam, whose snuffles had turned into grunts. “We should probably go before he gets really upset. He can be very loud.”