Page 9 of Holiday with the Aliens

Dash scooped up Kiki’s bag and followed the path the little girl had taken, resisting the urge to run and spend some of the energy building up in him. It felt so damngoodto finish a flight like this. And holiday flights were the best. Everyone ended up sohappy.

The woman with Kiki in her arms—Miranda, Dash recalled from their calls—smiled at him. Her wife, Fleur, let go of her loved ones and took the suitcase from him. “Thank you, Dash. I can’t remember the last time Kiki looked so happy.” She turned quickly and kissed her daughter’s curly hair. “Ettie said you were just the man to get our little girl home. I’m glad she was right.”

“She usually is,” Dash grinned. His cousin had sent this family his way, and he was thankful for the recommendation. “Kiki was a great passenger.”

“Rowan taught me how to pack,” Kiki piped in.

“Rowan?” Miranda asked. She set Kiki down. She might have been ecstatic to see her kid, but eleven year olds weren’t exactly light, not even tiny ones like Kiki.

“Another passenger,” Dash said.

“She works on Mars and she’s traveled the whole solar system, but she’s from Earth, and she met the governor of Mars once at dinner, and she’s really cool.” It came out in a rush, as if there was too much interesting stuff about Ro that Kiki had to let it all out.

For someone who’d been adamant about not being a babysitter, it seemed that Rowan had spent a good amount of time with the girl. Perhaps the woman had a more open heart than she seemed to think. It gave Dash hope. Then again, high on good cheer and feeling better by the second, it would be impossible for him to feel anything but hope at the minute.

“That’s great, honey,” said Miranda. “Now why don’t we get you back to our rooms. Uncle Kurt is coming over for lunch and he’s excited to see you. The whole family is.”

Kiki turned around and threw her arms around Dash. “Thanks for bringing me home.”

It took a few more minutes to get everything settled, but Kiki and her family eventually left for home. Dash turned around and practically ran back to the ship and to the promise of everything he and Rowan could do together. They’d simmered in flirtation for days, and now it was time to act.

But there was also so much he could show her on the moon! His mind whirled with possibilities. He wanted to get her into bed and dedicate all of his energy to pleasing her, but he also wanted to show her all the hidden wonders the moon had to offer. Everyone knew of its research stations and vacation hotspots, but they didn’t take time to truly learn the place. He’d ferried enough kids back and forth that he’d spent a good chunk of his time here, and Ettie basically lived on Lunar Base Alpha, and she had plenty of tricks to show him.

He couldn’t give Rowan the world, but he could give her a little slice of adventure that people rarely got to see.

He forced himself to slow down as he got to the docks, and he tried for a sedate amble into the ship, but he was pretty sure he was practically skipping. He just couldn’t care. Why should he? Kiki was with her parents and now he had Rowan all to himself for the next few days. Life couldn’t get more perfect.

Well, he could have Rowan for longer. Forever, maybe.

Maybe he could sneak away and shift really quick, just to confirm if his suspicions were correct. The longer he spent around Rowan, the more certain he became that she was his mate. And even if she wasn’t, he still wanted to be around her. She was smart, and funny, and sexy, and everything he’d never knew he wanted in a partner. He wanted her to be his mate so bad he could probably make his horns glow spontaneously if he thought hard enough. But before he could bound off to go check his suspicions, Rowan entered the cargo hold.

Today she wore a red sweater and black pants that hugged her every curve. He wanted to run his hands over her until she was panting under him, but he didn’t think now was the place. People could see them. And he might have been bursting with energy, but it hadn’t turned him into an exhibitionist.

“You seem… chipper.” Rowan grinned as she saw him.

“Chipper?” Dash couldn’t stop grinning, but he hadn’t even said anything. How could she know about the good cheer he’d harvested that was ready to explode out of him?

“You’re practically bouncing in place. Did someone give you sugar? Or six coffees?” She got close to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Deep breaths.”

Her presence didn’t do anything to calm him. And now she was close enough to smell. Dash breathed deep. Her scent was mixed in with the metallic taste of the docks around them, metal and fuel and recycled air, but strongest of all was the floral scent that was embedded in Ro’s skin. He leaned in close and only kept himself from licking the exposed flesh of her neck at the last moment. He took another breath and it went straight to his cock.

Who cared if anyone could see them? He had Ro in his arms. This was the best day ever.

“Bay doors are open, buddy,” Ro said, giving him a bit of a push to get a little air between them. But she didn’t step out of his grasp. “I’m not saying no, but let’s not put on a show.”

Right. Yes. No shows.

He had to get himself under control. But he had Rowan and a shot of good cheer from delivering Kiki to her family. He was drunk on it, and he wanted to spread the feeling even more. He laced his fingers through Rowan’s. “Come on, I want to show you something.” He tugged her toward the cargo doors.

“Shouldn’t we bring our bags?” But she didn’t resist, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“We’ll get them later,” he promised. They had hours before the ship was scheduled for maintenance and a bit of time before they could get into the room he’d rented. But there was plenty to do until then.

Lunar Base Alpha was primarily a research station, but there was an entire wing dedicated to visitors and it was filled with restaurants, entertainment, and hotel rooms. It wasn’t nearly as grand as the other lunar bases, which were tourist destinations in their own right, but it had its own quaint charm. And it wasn’t nearly as crowded as the other bases.

Dash took them past all that and down a little traveled hall, past a door that said Authorized Personnel Only, and down another hallway. The only beings they saw were cleaning bots.

“Uh…” Rowan didn’t slow down or pull her hand out of his grasp, but she sounded doubtful as they got further and further into the bowels of the station.

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