Page 13 of Her Alien Soldier
He was not even sure he still knew how, until that moment.
Her chuckles died down, and she smiled at him. The warmth in her gaze made his entire body heat and he couldn’t stop looking at her.
“He wasn’t wrong. I wouldn’t mind it, Xarek,” she said softly, still smiling at him. “And he’s probably right, assuming he’s not playing you. Having one of the bartenders perched on your lap would definitely make it look more like you’re here for a good time.”
“As opposed to?” he asked, and she laughed again.
“Sitting there with your arms crossed, glowering at the door like it’s your lifelong enemy,” she teased, and he shook his head.
“You are saying you volunteer for lap duty, then?”
She nodded, tucking a stray curl of dark hair behind her ear. “I volunteer.” She stood up and smiled at him. “In fact, I think we should practice so it doesn’t look awkward the first time I sit there in public.”
“What? Now?” he asked, heat growing deep in his center.
“Now,” she said quietly, moving to stand in front of him. He watched her for a moment, then opened his arms, offering his lap to her.
There was no way he was going to make it out of this without embarrassing himself.
Chapter Five
Maggie sat before she could second guess herself. She’d sat on men’s laps plenty of times, even jokingly, goofing around, flirting. Why this felt like walking off the edge of a cliff was a mystery.
Her first thought was that holy shit, his thigh was big and firm. Which made her think that he’s probably got a powerful thrust. Which made her nearly jump up because she was already hot and bothered and that was the last thing she needed to think about. So she stayed, and thought about how warm he was and how good he smelled before finally trying to pull herself together to look at him.
It was as if she’d never touched a man before. Which would make more than a few of her friends laugh their asses off. In her younger days, she’d been more than happy to take males of nearly any alien race up on their invitations to come to their quarters or ships with them.
And she’d had a good time!
But this was different, and when Maggie met his gaze, she thought, maybe, that it was different for him, too. He held her gaze and rested his big, warm hand on her hip, and there was no fighting the shiver that ran through her body at his touch.
He started pulling his hand away and she shook her head “Don’t,” she whispered. He firmly placed his hand back on her hip.
“You’d think I’d never been near a man before,” she muttered, voicing her irritation out loud. For some reason, he made her feel like she could do that.
“I was just thinking I feel like an adolescent alone with a female for the first time,” he murmured, and she couldn't help laughing.
“Glad it’s not just me,” she said, her gaze still locked with his.
“No, Maggie. It is not just you,” he said, giving her hip another little squeeze. “You will have to teach me what it looks like to be lighthearted and having fun. I am enjoying this, perhaps too much. But this does not feel casual and that is what it is supposed to look like.”
His words nearly took her breath away. And they sent her back to the last time she’d given her heart to someone. Only he’d said the exact opposite, that they were nothing, a mistake, and it had all been in her head.
“This is why I thought it might be a good idea to try this without an audience first,” she said. “I sort of had a feeling it wouldn’t be as simple as it should be.”
“I have been told I tend to complicate things,” he said mildly, and she smiled.
“Me too, Xarek.”
He moved his hand from her hip, sliding it up her back, then back down again, almost as if he was trying to soothe her.
It was nice. Comforting. It also made her nipples pebble beneath the thin fabric of her pajama top and heat swirl in her belly.
“All right?” he asked quietly, and she nodded. How do you sit on someone’s lap? She wondered. Oh, right! Rest your arm on his shoulder, dumbass.
She lifted one arm and rested her hand on his shoulder.
BAD idea. He was even bulkier and harder than she’d imagined.
