Page 61 of Guardian's Heart

I never thought I would, but with him…

"Let's sort this out first, big guy, then we talk about offspring." I nudged him. "Besides, I think we're missing a few steps in between."

"Like what?" He wanted to know.

"Uhm," I hated when he put me on the spot, especiallythisparticular spot. It had been on my mind for a while now, but I had no idea how to bring it up. I wasn't old-fashioned or anything. I knew that in this day and age, a woman could ask a man to marry her or be the first to sayI love you. Still, it would be kind of nice for him to take the initiative. I was learning to like my mating marks, but I still cursed them for the simple fact that they had been forced on me. Kind of like waking up one morning with a ring on your finger and a man you don't know smiling at you. Was it wrong to at least want this part the romantic way?

We had only known each other for a few weeks, normally expecting anI love you, or marriage proposal would be absolutely out of the question, but these weren't normal circumstances. After all, I did kind of wake up one morning with a ring on my finger, right?

As if reading my mind, Zaarek took my face into both of his hands. They were so large that his thumbs grazed my throat and his pinkies threaded through my hair.

He looked at me with an intensity that weakened my knees. "Nock is not the only one spying on human habits. I did some research as well," he confessed.

"You have?" I had to clear my throat before I uttered the words because suddenly it was very dry.

He nodded. His voice was so deep it inflamed my core.

"It was kind of necessary since the female I can't stop thinking about is a human."

"Can't stop thinking about?" I prodded.

"Nova, from the moment I met you, you’ve taken possession of every part of my being. You’ve invaded my thoughts, my heart, my soul—every single part of me is yours. You are the last thought that lingers in my mind before sleep pulls me away from you and the very first light that fills my world when I wake.

"You’ve woven yourself into my existence in a way I never thought possible. Your smile and laughter are everything I crave. You are my gravity, my compass, my anchor in this universe. Especially now when I don't know who or what I am. You are my one constant. You are the one who reminds me of who I am, where it matters.

"I didn’t just fall in love with you—you consumed me, completely, beautifully, until there was nothing left but the pieces of us entwined. With every word you speak, every glance you cast my way, you remind me that I’ve found the one thing I can’t, won’t, and never want to live without.

"You are not just part of my life, Nova. Youaremy life."

Tears gathered in my eyes, and my throat tightened even more. This was the most beautiful thing anybody had ever said to me.

A tear slipped down my cheek, and he caught it with his ring finger. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't." I smiled up at him like a love-drunk fool, which was exactly what I felt like. "Not at all, you made me happy. Youmakeme happy."

He tilted his head as if in question, and my smile deepened. "And I love you too, my silver alien hunk."

He still looked at me as if waiting for something.

Discomfited because I had never said anything like this, I licked my lips. "I'm not good with words, but in a world where I've been left totally out of my element and adrift, it was you who showed me… uhm… you who helped me…"

He smiled. "You're right, you're really not good at this."

Before I could make a complete fool out of myself, he kissed me deeply, and with so much tenderness I nearly cried again.

"Just tell me that one day we will sit by a cabin in the woods, you mending our clothes while watching our younglings," he whispered when our lips parted.

Children?

I had no idea how to raise children. The onlyraisingI had ever received had come from Missy, and I had been nearly an adult by then. I doubted Zaarek's occupation as a Space Guardian had prepared him much for raising children either.

You're looking for reasons to cop out, Missy's voice, which had been silent for a while, called me out on my bullshit like she always had.

Truth be told, the prospect of having kids frightened and enticed me in equal measure.

Still, there was something I really, really liked about the picture he was painting. For some reason, I didn't imagine the swamps of Louisiana for this vision but the forest on Morrakbarr, with its twisted trees.

"I'm not interrupting some bonding moment or something, am I?" Nock entered, yawning. He looked from Zaarek to me and shrugged. "My bad, come on you two lovers, we have work to do.

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