Page 15 of Her Alien Soldier
He was in agony. His hand would get a workout when he returned to his ship. Not for the first time since he had met Maggie, either.
“We can do this. This is important to you and your people,” she said softly.
“It is.”
“We’ll manage. I’ll just need plenty of cold showers in the meantime…unless….”
“Unless?”
She looked up at him. “We both want this. There is no rule saying we can’t give into the lust while you’re here. Maybe we’ll be able to focus better when we’re in public if we sate this insane need in private.”
He barely suppressed a groan. “I am a fool for not enthusiastically agreeing to that plan.”
“But?”
He ran his hand up and down her back, fingertips softly trailing along her spine. “I have not been casual about a single thing in my life. I am not made that way, though I have tried, a few times. I have to leave here after the Paraxian arrives. Which means anything between us can only ever be temporary.” He stopped there. If he had said everything on his mind, he would have added, “And it would not be enough.” Because that would also be the truth.
He felt her shiver beneath his touch, but he sensed it was not a shiver of displeasure. If he was a good person, he would stop touching her. Clearly he enjoyed torturing both of them.
“Not the one night stand type, huh?” she asked, turning her head to look into his eyes.
“No. It has been an annoyance with past relationships. I want everything, or nothing at all.”
Her gaze heated, and he had that urge again to turn her over and take what he wanted. He was fairly certain now that she would let him. Enthusiastically.
But he would have to walk away from her, and he had no room in his life to long for someone he could not have. There was a war to win, and his people were depending on him.
And if he stayed here, like this, alone with her in her quarters, he would lose what little self control he had left.
He gently scooped her up and set her on the seat beside him. “I think we have practiced enough. And I should get back to watching.”
“Of course.”
“I am playing Talacc with the Bellarian for the next few hours, so that will keep me from looking too obvious. I hope,” he said with a shrug as he stood. She stood as well, and he bowed his head. “Thank you, Maggie.”
“Of course. Good luck,” she said quickly, moving toward the door to see him out.
It already felt far too difficult to put one foot in front of the other. It would be so easy to drag her back to the seating area and pull her back onto his lap again.
But… duty. So he would not.
He offered her another small bow and stepped through the door before he could change his mind. And as he did, all he could think was that he was a damned fool.
Chapter Six
Maggie barely slept, so she was already cranky when she got to work. A cursory glance around the corridor let her know that Xarek wasn’t waiting in his usual spot. She took a deep breath and headed into the bar, running a hand through her hair as she did.
When she walked through the doors, it was to find an instrumental band playing lighthearted music on stage while Xarek and the Bellarian lead singer glared at one another over hands of cards. Her friend Julia was behind the bar, and Maggie made her way toward her, nodding in greeting to a few regulars as she did.
Julia smiled, hugging her in greeting. She followed Maggie’s gaze toward the card game.
“That’s been going on pretty much my entire shift,” she said.
“You’re kidding,” Maggie said as she looked at the two enormous aliens. They both seemed very focused, and shewondered if this was the best way to make sure he didn’t miss his Paraxian. She tore her gaze away from Xarek.
She’d try to act normal today. It wouldn't be easy. She felt like an idiot for propositioning him the night before. And his rejection stung, even though she understood why he’d done it.
“I’m not. It’s mostly been hours of them glaring at each other and slapping cards down onto the table. Every once in a while, one of them will gather up all the cards. I’m not sure if that means they won or lost, though.”
