Page 7 of Holiday with the Aliens

That wasn’t acceptable.

He wasn’t sure that she was his mate, but he already knew he wanted more time.

Why was he letting the challenge get him down? He was a reilendeer! He could take any nasty thing and find a way around it. He had an entireweekto get to know the woman he thought might be his mate. He had seven whole days to tempt her into his bed and find his way into her heart. So what if they partedfor a short time at the end of this journey? She’d found him once at home, surely he could find her? They could make plans to reconnect as soon as this thing was done.

That did a bit to banish the dark thoughts, and soon his normal optimism was returning. It was hard for a reilendeer to stay grumpy for long, and Dash was even more chipper than most.

But he still didn’t know where Rowan was.

Ah, screw it, the ship could fly itself.

He unbuckled the safety harness and was already out of his seat when he felt the stab of sadness permeating the ship. Was Kiki okay? She’d been in good spirits, if a bit tired, when they got her on board, but a child’s moods were mercurial and more than one had grown dour once the journey began. Though Dash wanted to find Rowan, he headed towards Kiki’s room first. He’d cheer her up and then continue on with his goal.

But when he made it to the passenger quarters, it wasn’t a sad Kiki that he found.

Rowan was sitting on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest and head resting against them. Sadness radiated off of her, enough to stagger him, and Dash wanted to smother her with warmth, anything to take away her pain.

A quick glance showed that Kiki’s door was open a crack, but the young girl seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Whatever sadness was on the ship, it was coming from Rowan, not the child.

“Fuck,” Ro whispered when Dash’s shadow fell over her. He sat down quickly rather than loom. She swiped at her eyes, rubbing away invisible tears. Her cheeks were pinker and her eyes watery, but she’d managed to stave off the crying fit, or it had passed before he found her. “Shit. I’m sorry. I’m a mess.”

Dash put his arm around Ro, and for a second she stiffened before melting into him. “What’s the matter?” She’d seemed to be in more than good spirits when they’d parted earlier.

Rowan groaned and dug her head into his shoulder, as if she could hide against him. “This isnothow I planned to spend my afternoon.” Her breaths grew deep, and Dash was pretty sure she was wrapping his scent around her. He liked the thought of that.

“It’s not wasted yet,” he promised.

“It’s just stupid. And not me.” She leaned away for a moment before rethinking and settling back against him.

Dash liked the feel of her there, but he didn’t like the tears. “Let it out,” he encouraged. “Negativity is a poison and you shouldn’t let it build in your system.”

“I saw Kiki,” she said. “Her door was open just a bit and she was just sleeping there. And it made me think of my nephew, Lee. I didn’t even know he was going by that name until yesterday! He’s ten and I haven’t seen him in person in almost half his life. I don’t know if he even remembers me. And I thought I’d be okay with that, that this trip would make up for everything. But maybe my sister’s right. I’ve been away for too long and they can’t count on me. And I saw how big Kiki is, and it made me realize that I’ve been thinking of Oa—of Lee as this tiny guy, but really he’s going to look a lot like her.”

As she spoke, her tone evened out and she pulled away. Dash immediately felt bereft, but he doubted that pulling her back towards him would give the result that he wanted. “What kept you away for so long?”

She rolled her neck until her head knocked back against the wall. “Work, I guess. At first I was establishing myself up here, and then… it’s such a long trip. And I just…” She sighed. “It was easier to stay away. Just like my father.”

He recognized a trip wire when he heard one, and even though Dash wanted to ask, he didn’t. “I realize that I’ve only known you for about a day, but since we’ve met you’ve been determined to get home to your family. You can’t change the past, but you can fix it now. You can prove to them that you’ll be around, even if you can’t always be home for the holidays.”

“Okay, that’s enough whining.” She pushed herself up and placed her hands on her hips. “Show me the ship, I want to know where I’m staying for the next few days.”

Dash recognized a deflection when he saw one, but he couldn’t hold it against her. He stood and offered his hand. She looked at it for a moment, as if it would bite. And then she reached out and laced their fingers together. A new beginning.

Dash showed her the ship.

Chapter Four

Tight quarters made making a move on the tempting captain a bit tricky. And Ro had tried. But Kiki was a little firecracker who had run of the ship, and whenever Ro thought she could get Dash alone, the kid showed up and wanted to talk, or play, or eat. Were all kids like that? Ro had never been around one for long enough to find out, and she couldn’t wait to drop Kiki off. Not that the kid was annoying, but time was running short, and if Ro woke up one more time on the edge of release and couldn’t do anything about it but use her own fingers, she was going to go crazy.

Dash was rightthere.and there was as much desire in his eyes as she felt in her lower regions.

They had three more days together, since flight regulations meant they had to wait in orbit around the moon before they could make their approach to Earth. It would have driven Ro to violence if she wasn’t suddenly grateful for the delay. For the first time in years she wasn’t thinking about work, and a lot of her other stresses had gone away. Dash seemed to radiate calm and happiness to an almost supernatural degree, and it made her want to sit at his side and soak it up for hours and hours. Shehad, actually. Well, they’d been talking, but she’d found endless subjects to discuss just so she didn’t need to walk away. Half the time Kiki sat there with them and added her own observations. Did she feel the same positivity that Dash handed out? Or did she just want to not be alone?

Either way, they were docking on the moon base soon, and Kiki’s parents would be waiting to retrieve her. And then she and Dash had the whole day to themselves.

Rowan hadplans. Plans that ended with both of them naked in a bed together. Or against a wall. Or on the floor.

She was fucking horny and she wanted to get off. With Dash. Multiple times.

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