Page 54 of What Makes an Alien a Dad?

How could a woman look even more beautiful when she was flustered like that? He wished to gather her in his arms and kiss that shy expression off her face, then make her moan and whimper some more.

“Must be.” He rubbed his right horn, tearing his eyes away from her lips.

“I promise it will never happen again.”

“Why not?” he blurted out.

Her eyes flared with shock.

“What are you talking about, Professor?”

“I mean... I don’t mind you moaning from my touch. In fact, I wish to hear more of it.” What the fuck was he saying? It came out weird. Creepy? Definitely clumsy. “In private, of course. Without my team around,” he added, possibly making it even worse.

She stared at him wide-eyed.

“Professor...I...”

“Kear, Maya. Please call me Kear.”

“Kear?” she sounded as if tasting his name on her tongue, and he loved it coming from her mouth.

“Yes,” he said softly. “Like friends do. We are friends, aren’t we?”

She had certainly become his best friend by now. But there was so much more he wished she could be.

“Friends,” she echoed, glancing aside. “Friends is good. Let’s stick to that.”

No, this was bad. And he’d walked right into it.

“Maya, no—”

She shook her head so fast, he feared she might twist her neck.

“Friends are all we could be, Kear. I’m in love with Walter. We’re well on the way to mending our relationship. I don’t want to jeopardize that.”

“Actually, about that...” He squeezed the back of his neck so hard, his fingers dug deep into the muscle.

By taking over her correspondence with her ex, he’d given her hope. It had helped her thrive, overcoming the heartache. But he’d also ruined any chance he could ever have with her. Because when she finally learned the truth, she’d hate his guts. Rightfully so.

She heaved a sigh. “I’ll be completely honest with you, Kear. I do have feelings for you. But this, whatever it is...” She waved a hand between them, her words slicing through him like a surgical laser. “It’s just a temporary physical attraction that surely would lead nowhere. Trust me, it’s not worth losing our friendship over. I didn’t come to Neron for some quick romp in the sack with a hot alien. And you deserve so much better than that—”

The sound of a door opening cut her off. Jazir poked his head out from the exam room.

“Professor? Maya? Are we completing today’s examination?” his assistant asked.

“Yes,” Kear replied firmly.

No matter what, he had to go on with his work, even without a fully functioning heart in his chest now.

“Um...” Maya hesitated, then delivered another blow both to his heart and his ego. “I think it’d be best if Jazir completed the exam instead of you.”

His hackles rose at the idea of another man touching her, even if in a strictly medical way.

“Actually,” she continued, clearly intending to end him today. “I think it would be best if Jazir or someone else from the team did all my exams from now on.”

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