Grumpy Alien King by Celeste King
Heather
Perfect genetic match.
My vision had tunneled to include nothing but the results until I saw them burned onto my eyelids when I blinked. My peripheral vision began to dot with gray. Was I even breathing? Had I forgotten how?
“Heather?”
I had to get myself together or I’d pass right out on his fancy carpet. It wasn’t like the results were shocking. Hadn’t I suspected just this, when I observed Dahrial and Rulora together? Hadn’t I really known all along?
Even without the words for it, our connection had been just as strong. All this changed was the vocabulary we used to describe it.
So why did it feel as though the world were splitting apart beneath my feet?
“Please say something. Anything. Tell me your favorite color, or the name of your childhood pet, or, just. Something. Please.”
The cockiest Sanax man on the planet made to beg, and I was too shellshocked to even enjoy it. “I don’t know what to say. It’s just so much.”
His exhale was shaky, as though he’d been holding his breath a long time. “I suppose it is. Is it too much?”
I shook my head. “No. No, it’s not. You know how much I envied Rulora?”
At Xxuric’s crestfallen expression I hurried to add, “Not because I wanted to be with Dahrial. Not at all. I just wanted to be wanted like that. When he talked about their bond, so much of it reminded me of how I felt about you. But you didn’t want me like that, and it hurt. That’s why I tried to run away.”
His brow furrowed as he considered my words. “I wanted you like that. I’ve always wanted you like that. Since you stepped off your shuttle, you were all I could think about.”
He’d been so furious when he caught my shuttle, so desperate. At the time I’d thought he was just some insane control freak. Which he definitely was. But now I understood there had always been something more between us.
Wouldn’t I follow him anywhere, too?
It didn’t feel real. I kept sneaking looks at the readout to try and convince myself that I wasn’t dreaming. I pinched myself for good measure. “I thought you hated me.”
“It would have been easier. You were promised to my son and bonded to me, and I had to hide myself in here so I wouldn’t lose my mind.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I wasn’t ready.” He looked at me, free of all his usual machismo posturing. “Forgive me?”
I tried to imagine hearing about being bonded to him before I’d left. I had to shake my head. “I don’t think I was ready, either. I’d probably have panicked and jumped on a shuttle, anyway. Just dealing with my insane attraction to you was hard enough.”
He grinned at that. “I thought you liked it hard.”
“Ugh, you’re impossible.” I laughed. I had to laugh. His joy was infectious. Now that the shock wore off, I found myself the happiest I’d ever been. I could have floated to the ceiling, if I let myself.
His expression smoothed. “I did want to tell you. All I could think about during the fight was that you could die and never know what you mean to me.”
Oh. My eyes pricked hot with tears, and I had to stare at the ceiling for a moment before they’d fade.
“And what do I mean to you?”
I had to force myself to ask it, but he answered immediately. “You are the love of my life.”
The wind had been knocked from me. I had never expected anything but a marriage of convenience. The best I had hoped for while I trained at Teshie’s had been an amicable relationship, possibly even a friendship. And here I’d stumbled into something so much more, without even trying.
“I love you, too,” I breathed.
And I did. Hadn’t I already known that, deep down?
Finally, finally, he pulled me close to him. He sank into his office chair, arms wound around my neck, and pressed our foreheads together. My body sang with the rightness of it, like it was finally home.
“Marry me?”
I couldn’t speak. I nodded, and he claimed my lips in a soft kiss.
How could I have run from this? It seemed unbelievable that I had actually put myself in a shuttle and intended on never seeing him again. I’d actively dodged asteroids just to get away from him! The thought of it tore at my heart, that I almost left and we would have never known how complete we were together.
We almost died, and we’d never have known.
The desperation wound itself into our kiss, deepening it. I was drowning in him, and I never wanted to come up for air.
Three knocks rapped on the other side of his office door. “Sir? You have a call on line three from Xau Manufacturing.”
Xxuric lazily slid his lips from mine and called out, “I’m in a very important meeting. You will clear my schedule for the day.”
“Uh. Yes, sir.”
He pulled me down for another kiss, but I stopped him with a hand to his chest. “Shouldn’t I lock the door?”
“If you like.” His mouth trailed down my throat and I had to suppress a shiver. He instinctively knew exactly where to kiss to liquefy my knees. “I don’t mind letting everyone know that you’re mine.”
My mind flashed back to our very first encounter, in front of his entire staff. It had some appeal, but I wanted him all to myself first.
“As tempting as that offer is, maybe we could head over to your room?” I pushed myself to my feet. It was embarrassing how much I needed to steady myself against his desk. “And spend the rest of the day in bed? And up against the wall, on the balcony, in the hot tub?”
He stood with me and extended his hand. “Fine. Come with me.”
“Anywhere,” I promised.
