Avelyn and the Alien Daddy (Intergalactic Brides 3) by Jessica Coulter Smith Page A

Have you changed your mind about being my mate? Would you prefer that I pay you for the services you do around here and keep my hands to myself?”
    “No! God, no. Thrace, that isn’t it at all. I just… look at you and look at me. You can do so much better.”
    He tugged on her feet until he’d dragged her down the couch, then he scooped her up and placed her across his lap. “Listen to me and listen well. There is no woman out there for me except you. I’ve never felt these things before, and I know I never will again. Lily and you mean everything to me, Avelyn. You’re the perfect mother for her, and the perfect mate for me. And together, we’ll rescue more orphans and make one big happy family.”
    “There’s something you should know.” She nibbled on her lower lip, questioning whether or not she should tell him. Was it the right time? “There’s a reason I’m nervous around you, that I feel so insecure.”
    “You have no reason to be insecure, Avelyn.”
    “It’s because I love you,” she blurted. “I love you and I’m scared that you can never love me in return. I’m broken, Thrace, and that’s never going to change. Yes, it was done to me without my knowledge, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m not a whole woman. I’m defective.”
    “Don’t make me turn you over my lap and blister your ass.” He grinned. “I learned that from television.”
    Tears gathered in her eyes.
    “Avelyn, you exasperate me at times with the way you view things, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you. You mean the world to me. Do you think I would fall to my knees and worship at the feet of just any woman? I’ve never tried to pleasure a woman before last night and I was terrified I would do it wrong, but I was determined to follow through. I wanted you to feel the things you make me feel. My blood heats when you’re around and all I can think about is stripping you bare and getting you under me as fast as possible, because my cock aches to feel you wrapped around it. And it isn’t just lust. I’ve felt lust before. This is so much more than that, Avelyn. Do you know why?”
    She slowly shook her head.
    “Because I love you.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “I love you so damn much. It’s why I won’t let you go, even if the council says we can’t be together.”
    She toyed with the buttons on his silk shirt. “You know. Lily is sleeping soundly. Maybe if we’re really quiet, you could take me to the bedroom and show me just how much you love me?”
    “I could do that.” He smiled and kissed her softly. As his hands delved into her hair, there was an incessant beeping in the room. “Damn.”
    “What is it?” she asked.
    He pulled the little tablet looking thing from his pocket. “The council wishes to speak to me. They asked that I bring you with me, which means I have to find someone to stay here with Lily. That could take time.”
    “Will they be that patient?”
    “I can only hope.” He sighed. “I’m going to call Victoria and Xonos to see if one of them can watch Lily for a little while. I’m not sure how long a conversation this will be. The fact they want to see both of us worries me somewhat. If they had good news, wouldn’t they only need to see me?”
    Her stomach knotted. “You think they’re going to deny our mating?”
    “It’s possible.”
    “Make the call and let’s hurry to the station. I don’t want to keep them waiting. What if they become angry? They surely won’t approve our mating if we make them wait for us.”
    “I’m calling now. Put on some of your new shoes so your feet won’t bother you, and then, despite what the council has to say, we’ll come home, and hopefully, Lily will still be asleep so I can show you just how I feel about you.”
    Avelyn brushed a kiss against his lips again, before going to get a pair of her new shoes while Thrace made his call.

Chapter Eight
     
    Thrace stood before the Vid-Comm, Avelyn’s hand