Page 4 of Rathgar

He doesn’t.

“I’ll wait.” He invites himself inside and stoops through the doorway, moving to stand against the wall in the living room. He crosses his arms and just stands there, glowering. He’s so tall he nearly hits the ceiling, and Iris stops playing to look up at him.

“Why don’t you say hello, Iris?” I’m talking more out of nervousness at the moment. Anything to fill the empty air. I can’t stand him just hovering there. It gives me the creeps. Feels like he’s just waiting for me to mess up again so he can lecture me about what a bad mother I am.

I scowl at the thought. He doesn’t know a thing about me. It can stay that way for all I care.

Iris stares up at him with wide eyes for another few seconds before waving her small hand at him. She’s all but forgotten the blocks, her mouth hanging open in what looks like awe.

I don’t get it. She’s been around Soren plenty of times and never had this reaction.

“Hello.” She says cheerfully before standing up on wobbly legs. Iris grasps the edge of the couch for support. “Hello.” She says again.

I look over to Rathgar expectantly. Surely he’s not so rude to ignore a child? But he simply stands there, having some sort of weird staring match with my daughter.

“Hello?” Iris says one more time, raising her hand. Her soft, sweet face pleads with him, yet he still does nothing.

Rathgar doesn’t uncross his arms. He simply looks confused, his brow furrowed.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Not only is he a judgmental asshole, but he won’t even be nice to my daughter. I’m about to ask him to leave when Iris starts wailing.

Hmph. Serves him right. She clearly said hello, and all he did was glare at her. No wonder she was scared! Rathgar’s expression changes, but he looks even more unsettled than before, if that’s even possible.

I don’t want to curse him out in front of my daughter, so I give him the most furious glare I can before rushing to Iris’s side. Pulling her into my arms, I try shushing her, but she’s still sniffling and wailing. I pick her up off of the ground and kiss her cheek.

“Shh, you’re all right. You’re okay. Mommy’s here.”

Iris sniffs again and cranes her neck to look back at Rathgar. I thought she was scared of him, but she reaches out her hand again. “Hug.”

Her sudden request catches me off guard. Had I heard that right? “You want a hug…from him?”

She reaches out again. “Hug.”

I glance up at him, lips pulled into a smirk as I look at the expression on his face. What’s Mr. Tall, Dark, and Dangerous going to do now? For such a fearsome warrior, he looks almost…scared. Over this little thing?

“You heard her,” I taunt him. “Iris wants a hug. You’re not really going to turn her down, are you? You’re the one who gave me a lecture on taking care of kis.”

Rathgar sputters. He flinches, eyeing the door. Looks like he’s about to make a run for it. “A-are you sure?”

“Hug!” Iris spouts again. I raise my eyebrows at him, waiting to see how he responds.

Your move, big guy.

He freezes for a moment longer, looking for all the world like trapped prey even though he’s normally a huge predator. I almost want to laugh, it’s such a ridiculous juxtaposition. But then he swallows, gives a short nod, and holds out his arms. “All right. I will give her this…hug.”

I hand Iris over and the moment she’s in his arms, she quiets down. It’s like magic. I can’t believe it.

Rathgar’s posture is stiff, his movements tense and unsure, but Iris looks so small in his huge arms. Almost like she’s a newborn all over again. His face softens from its usual disdainful scowl and turns into something almost pleasant.

My heart takes notice, thudding in my chest as I watch this big man gently hold my daughter. He’s so grumpy all the time and only seems to care about fighting. Yet with Iris in his arms he looks somehow at peace.

The sound of the door shakes me out of my thoughts. Lara, Soren, and Ray are back at last. Soren cocks his head when he sees Rathgar standing there with Iris. He flicks his gaze over to me, and then he swings his gaze back to Rathgar.

“Is everything all right?” Soren slips back into commander mode, straightening his posture.

I’ve never seen an alien blush before, but the look on Rathgar’s face just about does it. He awkwardly hands Iris back to me before standing straight and giving him a traditional Aesir salute. “I came to inform you of my planned absence. I’m heading to the center later today and I wanted to make sure there was nothing else you needed of me before then.”

My heart skips a beat. The center. There’s only one place he could mean. The Intergalactic Surrogacy Agency? Him?

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