Page 14 of Guarded By an Alien Hunter

She rears back. “You think you like me that much? You just met me. I thought I annoyed you with all my questions and how much I talk.”

“Female, you never annoy me. I am only concentrated on keeping you safe and others away from you.”

She narrows her eyes. “Could you live here, with me, forever, in San Francisco? I’ve already moved away once and I don’t want to do that again. I’m willing to visit your home planet if you’d like but…”

I look around. It is nighttime and the curtains are still open and there’s a view of the sparkling lights of the city. We sit here, exposed like this because I know no one is able to penetrate my security perimeter. “I enjoy this location. Humans are pleasant to live amongst. I like how there are already a few other species here too and I believe one day this planet will be given full membership into the four sectors. I’ve already left my homeplanet in order to pursue my career. It wouldn’t be all that different for me to settle on another planet to start a family line.”

She bites her lip and exhales. “Three weeks. We have to wait at least three weeks to be more than friends?”

“Three weeks,” I confirm.

Chapter 5

Katie

And now I know that Vander wants me as much as I want him.

This hot and sexy man who exudes strength and honor wantsme? And not just as a hookup but as a real relationship. He wants me to have his babies.

His. Babies.

My mind is spinning, full of the weight of that trial and now the thought that I might possibly have found my future husband?

And he’s not even human.

He’s been hiding his feelings so well, too. I had no idea he wanted to get together with me. Well, some idea, but hot glances from a male of an entirely different species can be attributed to miscommunication.

First, I assumed I’d get a bodyguard who was older and probably married with kids. And he wasn’t even the same species as me, so we probably weren’t compatible. And then when I met Vander Best and saw that he was impossibly handsome, sexy, andsingle, I still assumed nothing would ever happen between us, despite how much I secretly wanted him, considering his talk of professionalism.

And then there were all the hot glances during dinner. I caught him staring at my ass, which made me warm all over. When we move together through the courthouse, he touches me through one or two layers of fabric on my back or elbow and crowds close in the elevator.

He smells so good.

I began to entertain fantastic thoughts of him and I, in my bed, naked and sweaty. I unbuckle his pants and get on my knees…

And now I know these thoughts aren’t pure fantasy, but it was all real. Vander has the same feelings for me as I do for him. But we’re in a strange situation where he’s my bodyguard and I’m his client, so nothing can happen between the two of us right now. But meanwhile, he wants me to decide if I want a real relationship with him when this is all over.

This last week it’s been just the two of us. I’ve gotten to know how he likes his coffee. I’ve learned his favorite pizza toppings. And even though we're not of the same species, and he was born on a totally different planet, it’s surprising how much we get along.

But…I thought Brett and I got along too. I thought Brett wanted to get married and start a family with me too.

I wince with remembered pain. The way my former fiancé proposed at that restaurant and slipped on my favorite diamond. And then I take deep breaths.

Vander is nothing like Brett.

Right?

Each night I overshare with him at the kitchen table about everything in my life, except the trial. We have a rule that we leave that topic on the threshold of the front door. Technically, I’m not supposed to talk with anyone about the trial. But he’s sitting in the trial each day. A weird loophole, but to be ethicalwe still do our best to not talk about it, other than scheduling logistics.

I’ve learned that Vander is much neater than I am. He has been keeping that bedroom nice and tidy. He doesn’t make a huge mess of the bathroom and instead cleans up after himself in there. His weapons are perfectly organized. And he likes cleaning up the kitchen at night before we go to bed. He goes in there after his final perimeter check and programs the coffee maker to start each morning.

And I'm not afraid of his weapons anymore.

Vander finds Earth interesting and humans easy to get along with. He likes our food and he likes how I cook, and I also like learning about his species. The more time I spend with Vander, the more I continue to see us being able to continue and us being together.

But I also still worry that I’m wrong.

That I don’t know him well enough to make such a permanent life-long decision. It’s good that he told me up front that he wants a real relationship, with babies right away. Because I also have to decide if I want to become a mother right away.

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