Grumpy Alien King by Celeste King
Heather
“You want to hit right here.”
I adjusted Moreck’s hand against Freya’s neck. He struck again, pulling just short of knocking the wind out of my daughter and looking to me for approval.
“Yes! Very good! You two are going to be so skilled.”
“And thoughtful!” Rulora shouted across the backyard. She was bent over a book, designing the kids’ lesson plans. “Your studies are just as important!”
“Of course. Of course,” I said as I shook my head at them.
They both giggled, and I quickly shushed them as Rulora looked up. She sighed exasperated, knowing I had the much more fun topic.
I never truly believed that fighting was more important than Rulora’s lessons. She was a skilled tutor, and their knowledge was as extensive as mine was at the Agency. They were natural fighters, too, and while Rulora and I teased each other, we respected the other woman.
Freya sliced her hand down towards the pressure point in Moreck’s neck, stopping before causing any harm. She looked up at me with big doe eyes, horns peeking out from underneath her long black hair.
“Like this, Mommy?”
“That looks fantastic, Pumpkin. Do you both want to do some free rolling before lunch?”
“Yeah!” They yelled in unison, dashing to the middle of the grassy area.
I collapsed into the chair next to Rulora, keeping my eyes on the kids as they tumbled and practiced arm locks and escape tactics.
“Dahrial says that his son can already beat him up. He worries for anyone who will ask for Freya’s hand.”
Rulora and I both laughed at the idea so far off in the distant future.
“Between Xxuric, Moreck, and Dahrial, I may not even have to step in myself.”
“Heaven and Hell will need to combine forces if you need to step in.”
“Oh, please. Like you wouldn’t go on a warpath for Moreck.”
“I’d go on a warpath for either of them.”
I smiled, reaching out to pat Rulora’s hand. “Me, too.”
“What’s going on out here?”
I leaned back to look at my husband, surveying the kids so enthusiastically wrestling. He thought the lessons were a bad idea at first. He said they were too young. I could tell he loved letting Freya practice on him as he didn’t bring it up anymore.
“It’s Mommy’s free time.”
He laughed, kissing me on the head. “Maybe have the kids break and go for lunch.” He looked to Rulora. “Dahrial is waiting inside for you three.”
Without missing a beat, Rulora jumped up, ushering the kids inside. Xxuric came around to claim her seat, a suspicious grin on his face.
“Spill it,” I said the second the door slid shut.
His smile only grew larger. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“That’s bullshit. Tell me what’s going on.”
He sighed. “Why can’t you ever at least pretend to be surprised.”
He pulled two tickets from his pocket, handing them to me. I scanned the information listed on the paper, but I didn’t understand.
When I looked up confused, Xxuric came around to squat down beside me.
“They are traveling tickets.”
He took them out of my hand gently, and I knew it was very important. His voice was low and soft with a sweet tone of voice.
“Do you recognize this star field?”
He pointed to a number in the corner, and I shook my head. In all the things I had studied over the years at the Agency, I had never learned about Earth’s geographical coordinates.
He stood. “Come with me.”
I followed him to the edge of the patio, and he pointed up to the sky.
“Each zone of the planet has a star field coordinate that identifies the main stars in its area. Ours is 1425 because of those two stars.” He pointed to two balls of light, rivaling the sun for attention but failing.
“This is the coordinates that I found for your parents last known address.”
My heart stuttered, and I turned slowly to look at him. I hadn’t seen my family in so long, hadn’t allowed myself to miss them. He had found them for me, and he had decided to take me there.
I leapt into his arms without warning, and he nearly didn’t catch me. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist while I hugged him. He cupped my backside with hands to give me support so I leaned back to look at him.
“This means the world to me.”
“I’d give you three worlds if you asked me to.”
I smiled, my heart thundering through my chest just looking at him. I loved him so much, and his love for me was so much more than I ever thought I could have. It overwhelmed me the way he cared for me. In a good way.
He leaned forward to kiss me, and I stayed close to his face, our noses rubbing against each other’s.
“I was thinking,” he said in a husky, low voice, “maybe once we visit with your parents, you and I can take a well-deserved, adult only vacation.”
My heart sank. “We aren’t taking Freya?”
“I know you’d want your parents to meet her so I have separate tickets for Dahrial and Rulora and Moreck. They will fly back once we go on our vacation.”
My cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and I leaned in to grab his face and pull it to me. The sweet kiss I intended heated up, and I kissed him harder and harder. Soon, I was gasping for air, and he was nibbling at my neck. It took everything in me to pull back from him.
“Maybe we should take this inside?”
He nodded, his voice gruff when he spoke. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to go on an adults only trip. I think we should grow our family.”
I laughed, remembering how much I hated being pregnant. He was walking to the house, undeterred, and as I shifted against his waist, I felt something long and hard. I raised my eyebrows at him.
“I think I feel something else growing,” I remarked.
“Oh, do you?” His signature cocky smirk slid onto his face.
“Mm-hmm. I think we need to tend to this first.”
“I’m sure you can get that handled,” he whispered into my ear before biting at the lobe. I bit back a scream as he chuckled.
I laughed as well, letting him carry me to our bedroom.
It was going to be a wild night.
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