Page 3 of Snowed in with my Alien Boss

Stars, she was so cute when she was flustered. “You have not answered my question,” Grogen said, frowning. “What are you doing here? Why are you not at home?”

“I was just picking up something I left behind,” she said.

“Do not lie to me. I have been watching since you set off the alarm when you came in. You have been here for a while. I’ll ask you again, why are you here?”

Grogen could tell from the look on her face that she wasn’t going to tell him. Fine. If she didn’t want to tell him now, he wouldn’t push her, but he’d get to the bottom of this eventually.

She grabbed her coat and threw it on over the thin, barely-there dress. Then, without a word she tried to slip past him. But he moved to block her exit.

“What do you think you’re doing? You are not going out there on foot. Colony transports will not come in this weather, and you do not have your own. Come with me,” Grogen said decisively. He gestured to her bag and clothes. “Grab your things.”

Her shoulders sagged in defeat. “Okay. I guess. But can you bring me to the inn? I can’t stay at my apartment.”

“No.” He wasn’t going to drop her off at a place full of strangers.

As if to punctuate his words, a gust of wind rattled the shop. Fuck. The storm really was coming in earlier than expected. Perhaps the updated forecast was wrong, too. Was there even time to drop her off somewhere safe? He might miss his window to get out of the colony completely. Perhaps he’d just have to bring Abby up to the cabin with him.

She frowned, the expression making her look adorable rather than fearsome. “Fine,” she huffed, pulling on her boots. “Just drop me off anywhere.”

“No. You are coming with me.”

“Excuse me?

“I said you are coming with me. You will not be safe at the inn. And you are not safe at home. You won’t tell me why, but I can feel it.”

“Touché.”

“What?” According to his translator, that meant to touch. Grogen doubted she’d meant she wanted him to touch her.

“Never mind. But I can’t go up to the cabin with you. You value your time there. I’ll only be in your way.”

Didn’t Abby realize she could never be in his way? Instead of saying that, Grogen said gruffly, “If I do not take you, I will worry about your safety, and it will ruin my trip.”

“Oh. I don’t want to do that.”

“Then you will come with me.”

She chewed on her lip as he grabbed her bag from the table and headed out of the staff room and toward the back door. “I guess beggars can’t be choosers,” she remarked.

Grogen found the human phrase confusing, like so many of them were. She was not begging for anything. But he did not correct her because he was too busy wondering what in the world he was getting himself into.

How was he supposed to stay away from her when they’d be in that tiny cabin together for days? It was hard enough in the garage. He’d always deliberately kept interactions with her short so he wouldn’t be tempted to do to her all the things he secretly wanted to. He was sure that one time together wouldn’t be enough, either—not with the way his body reacted around her.

Spending any time together was dangerous. It might trigger a mate bond, something Grogen had never once worried about before. After the thorough experimentations of his youth, a phase every Tallean went through, he’d lost interest in finding a mate. When he was a young mercenary, many females had been interested in him, but only as a sexual conquest and some fun, nothing more. He was older now, retired, but that was because of an injury and not because he’d made his fortune.

His mind returned to his predicament. How was he going to survive four full days with Abby alone in his cabin?

Chapter 3: Abby

They weren’t going to make it to his cabin. Hell, they weren’t even going to make it to histransport.

Abby stared in dismay at the wall of white that greeted her at the back door. The storm had blown in while they’d talked. It wasn’t quite whiteout conditions yet, and she could see Grogen’s light blue transport through the snow, parked at least twenty feet away, but that would change soon.

She shouldn’t be surprised. This happened every single year she’d been here. Reka 5 didn’t have many snowstorms, but you could always count on a massive one to roll in right before the winter solstice. It was such a reliable weather event that cleaning up after the storm was part of the annual festivities.

“Fuck,” Grogen swore quietly behind her. “We can’t leave now.”

Great. Not only had she been caught squatting half-naked at the shop, he’d also missed his opportunity to escape to the cabin because of her.

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