Page 26 of Made For The Alien Warrior

“Distracting you.” He rolled her away, set his hand on the bedding and then pulled her head on top of his arm.

She stared up at him, thick eyelashes fluttering. “Your hand is hard.”

“Shush.” He flicked his tail as he gathered her to his chest.

She went quiet. He could feel the tiny hammers of her breath leaving her nostrils and hitting his chest.

Tiegan glanced down to see if she had calmed and noticed her finger moving. She was tracing the shape of his tattoos in the air.

Her interest in the symbols pleased him. He made a satisfied sound in his throat.

She glanced up. “Why are you so happy?”

“Did my expression give it away or did our connection tell you?”

She bit down on her bottom lip. “What do they mean?”

He gently took her hand. The moment his fingers closed around her wrist, Sim-pony’s pulse jumped and quickened.

He brought her finger down so it was touching his chest instead of hovering over it. The moment her warm flesh made contact, his pants tightened.

She gulped. “Tiegan…”

“It is the imprint of my lineage,” he whispered, keeping her finger on his chest. “All males who share my bloodline will have a design similar to this.”

“It’s like a family birthmark,” she muttered, her voice creeping into one of awe.

“Indeed,” he muttered. Sim-pony began to graze her nails against his chest and it felt so good, his eyes fluttered closed.

“Does that mean your father has the same symbols?”

His eyes burst open and he went stiff.

She noted his reaction with a frown. “What’s wrong?”

“Neh.” His voice dropped to a husk. “My father should share these symbols, but I do not know for certain as I have never seen him.”

“Why not?” Her eyes were wide and innocent.

He hesitated. Tiegan had never shared this with anyone before.

“You can tell me,” she whispered.

“My father… abandoned me.”

A line formed between Sim-pony’s brows. “But I thought Plutonians believed in commitment and honoring their vows.” Her eyes darted back and forth. “The girls kept going on and on about how dedicated your species was to doing the right thing.”

“Thisisthe way of the Plutonians, but not everyone abides by it. We each must choose the path we want to take.”

“So there are bad Plutonians running around?” She gulped.

“You need not worry about them,” he promised, dipping his forehead to press against hers. “I will take care of you.”

“Why?”

He arched an eyebrow nub. “Must there be a reason?”

“Yes. The reason will tell me whether I can trust your words.”

---