Page 19 of Alien Engineer's Mate

"Papa," Emily said, her small hand patting his chest. "Papa, all okay now."

He lifted his head to look at her, and the guilt punched him under the ribs. His anger had frightened her more than the injury itself.

Papa.

She'd never called him that before. His throat closed up as emotion swamped him. All his fears about failing her, about not being enough, faded in the face of that simple word and he felt a hundred feet tall.

"Yes," he managed, his voice rough with emotion. "Papa's okay now too."

He held her closer, memorizing everything about this moment. He'd known from the moment he plucked her from that squalid closet that his life would change forever, but nothing had prepared him for how completely she would capture his heart, how fiercely he would love her.

Now she called him Papa, accepting him as completely as he'd accepted her.

"Thank you," he said to the healer as he stood, settling Emily more comfortably in his arms. "We'll be going now."

The warriors who had witnessed his earlier outburst stepped aside, their expressions somewhere between amusement and understanding. He ignored them and turned toward the exit, still reeling from Emily's new name for him. A curtain swished aside, and someone stepped out of a bay in front of him.

Time stopped.

The female standing before him couldn't be real. Dark hair fell in waves past her shoulders, framing a face that stopped all his thought processes. Her eyes, a shade of green he'd never seen before, widened as they met his.

She was human, that much was obvious from her smaller stature and delicate features, but something about her called to him on a level he'd never experienced before. His chest felt too tight, and his breath caught in his throat. Even Emily's warm weight in his arms seemed distant compared to the overwhelming presence of this female.

The universe had narrowed to this moment, this space, this female.

His female.

Eira steppedout of the treatment bay, her mind still processing the healer’s explanation of Kyle's new treatment plan. Along with a medication regimen, he’d outlined a physical therapy plan and assured her that he would look into the genetic condition that was causing Kyle’s illness as well. Her head whirled. The cost alone would have bankrupted them back on the colony, but here?—

A shadow fell over them and she looked up. And up.

There was an absolute mountain of a man blocking their path.

Her breath caught as she met eyes that reminded her of the raw gemstones they sometimes found in the deeper mine shafts—a mesmerizing amber-gold that seemed to glow from within. The big alien stared at her with an intensity that made her skin tingle, like the static charge before a dust storm.

A smile tugged at her lips despite her nervousness.

She knew Latharian warriors were large. She only had to look around the room to work that one out, but this one... He was huge. Bigger than the rest. His presence filled the corridor, making the huge medical bay feel suddenly cramped. Dark hair pulled into a ponytail at the back of his neck emphasized sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw. His leather uniform was well worn but clean, and the insignias on his collar marked him as someone with authority, though she had no idea what they meant.

"Emily!" Grace's excited voice shattered the moment. "Mama, that's Emily from the nursery!"

Eira blinked, finally registering the small human child in the warrior's arms. The same little girl her daughter had been playing with earlier, now sporting a bandaged knee. The warrior opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words emerged as Emily squeaked, “Grace!” and wriggled. “Papa, down. Please.”

"Ah, Lead Engineer Maax," Kellat emerged from the bay behind them as the big alien put Emily down so she could run to Grace. "I see you've met Lady Coleman and her children."

An engineer then. That explained the different insignias from the security warriors they'd seen earlier. Eira pushed aside the flutter in her stomach as she looked at the big engineer. He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, but she'd only just arrived at the station, and she needed to focus on getting her children settled first. Before she started to ogle the local talent.

"Your little one made quite an impression on Grace," she said, gesturing to where her daughter was practically bouncingwith excitement, her earlier shyness forgotten in the presence of her new friend.

"You should be getting back," she added softly, thinking of Emily's family. "Her mother must be worried about the knee."

The warrior—Maax—shook his head, his expression softening as he looked at Emily. “She doesn’t have a mother. It's just the two of us."

“Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“No need to be,” he shrugged. “Never met the female. I found Emily when she needed help. She needed a home." He trailed off, but the tender way he looked at the girl chattering away to her daughter said everything about his feelings.

"If you're quite finished taking up the entire corridor," Kellat cut in with amusement, "I have other patients waiting. Maax, since you're headed toward the residential section, perhaps you could escort Lady Coleman and her children back to their quarters? They're still learning the station's layout."

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