Page 89 of What Makes an Alien a Dad?

My breasts tingled with build-up pressure. It was time for me to pump.

“I’ll be quick.” He started for the door.

“Wait.” I stopped him. “She needs to eat. I need to pump. We could just, you know...bypass the pump and make it easier for everyone.”

He paused, keeping his eyes on mine.

“You want to nurse Anika?”

“It’d be easier,” I repeated, trying to sound casual, though I realized this was not a casual matter.

Judging by the look on his face, he knew it, too.

“Maya,” he said carefully. “Breastfeeding facilitates bonding in humans. Leaving her would be that much harder for you, much harder than just leaving me.”

Parting from either of them seemed impossible already.

I shook my head, reaching for the baby. “Just give her to me, Kear.”

He didn’t object anymore, handing Anika to me.

“Aww, come here, little princess,” I cooed, making my way over to the couch.

Anika squirmed and wailed, her little button nose turning pink under the short fur.

“Hungry?” I smiled. “I know how it feels. I get cranky, too.”

I sat down on the couch, adjusting her in the crook of my left arm. My dress closed on the back. The line where the two halves fused together ran from my neck down to my waist along my spine.

“Would you mind opening my dress for me, please?” I asked Kear, tilting down my head.

He grunted softly but stomped closer. I leaned forward, giving him more access. He reached over the high back of the couch and slid his fingers down, releasing the closure. His light touch skittered across my shoulders as he pushed the dress off my left side, taking the bra strap down with it.

Holding the baby on my arm, I freed my left breast. Anika turned her head, searching for the nipple. The moment I moved it closer, she latched onto it firmly. The fussing and crying stopped immediately. After a few impatient, hungry pulls, she found her rhythm, tugging gently as she nursed.

Her face relaxed. Her eyelids, trimmed with thick black eyelashes, fluttered open. She stared up at me with eyes of the same intense violet color as her dad’s.

Tenderness swept through me. My limbs felt warm and heavy. I caught her hand, pressing my thumb in the middle of her little palm. I felt completely and utterly in love.

Kear brushed my hair out of the way and over my shoulder. Then I felt a press of his lips at the base of my neck from behind.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

I didn’t clarify what he was thanking me for. I simply reveled in this moment of the three of us together and enjoyed the happiness that curled inside me like a fluffy kitten.

After she finished nursing, Kear took Anika to bed. I got off the couch and straightened my clothes.

He jogged down the stairs just a few moments later.

“Fast asleep.” He grinned. “She had a busy day. Lots of fresh air. I may even get some sleep tonight, too.”

“I can stay in her room and feed her when she wakes. That way, you’ll get some rest, and I’ll catch a nap in the aircraft on the way to the waterfalls tomorrow while you fly us there.”

He stalked toward me from the stairs.

“You can’t ever leave us, Maya. Not anymore, not ever.” He gripped my shoulders, his eyes trapping mine. “I’ll win you over, no matter how long it will take me. I’ll go to Earth with you if I have to. I’ll do anything.”

The intensity in his voice made me sway in his arms. I slid a glance down his face, pausing on his mouth.

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