Page 15 of My Christmas Alien Mate

"Alright, hold on," I bent down to open the cabinet and found a shower gel that smelled more manly. I bought it a long time ago and couldn't even remember why. Grampa hadn't liked it, so it had been sitting here, collecting dust.

"Here is some shower gel." I held it out to him.

He took the bottle, opened the top and smelled it. If possible, his face lit up even more. "It smells like your forest out there."

I nodded and remembered suddenly that that was the exact reason why I bought it in the first place.

"Towels are here." I showed him a built-in closet that was stacked with toilet paper, towels, cleaners, and whatnots. "Enjoy, and I'll fix breakfast in the meantime."

He stopped me by the door; his fingers were incredibly soft on my arm and sent goosebumps down my flesh. "I feel bad not helping you."

"Don't," I waved him off. "It's my pleasure, after all, you saved my life."

Right on cue, I let out a loud sneeze and his sweet expression turned to worry. "I'm fine," I assured him and scooted out the door before he stopped me, closing it behind me.

On the other side, I leaned against it for a moment, gently stroking the part of my arm his fingers had touched. If I hadn't known better, I would have sworn I was falling for the guy. I snickered, right. Like I didn't have any other worries than to be falling for a handsome alien who saved my life and was taking a shower in my bathroom.

A shower, oh God, I groaned as images of his godlike, very naked body, in my bathtub began to torture me, making my stomach flip for the second time in not even an hour.

You need to get a grip, I admonished myself and rigorously pushed thoughts of my loofah rubbing over his gorgeous body out of my mind and myself off the wall to make my way into the kitchen, where I energetically pulled out everything I needed to make breakfast.

One cup of coffee was done, ready for me to mix it to my specification of heavenly which included a generous dollop of sweet cream and several spoonfuls of sugar that would go straight to my waistline, but I didn't care. I had sworn I wouldn't care about the twenty or so extra pounds I was carrying—alright, twenty-five—until this was all over, and I left Grampa's place for good. I couldn't deal with calorie counting right now, I just couldn't.

I decided I would wait on fixing Galexor's coffee until he was out of the shower and began to whip up the pancake batter from scratch just like Grampa taught me. I added a few teaspoons of baking powder, cinnamon, and pinch of nutmeg—Grandma's secret recipe—to the four eggs and vigorously whipped them into a fluffy consistency before I added sugar, flour, and milk.

I began browning bacon on the griddle before I poured the first of the batter into a cast iron skillet where butter was already melting.

All the while, I tried to studiously avoid listening to the running water and imagining my loofah moving up and down a rock-hard chest, abs, legs, and other places on a long, thick body.

The first pancake was ready, and I placed it on Grandma's good china before I added more butter and batter and turned the bacon.

The kitchen was beginning to fill with the aroma of my childhood, and for just a moment, I allowed myself to dwell in nostalgia. At least that distracted me from the gorgeous male on the other side of the wall.

Thehumanshowerwasabsolute bliss. Our cleansing booths didn't even come close to making one feel this refreshed and clean. Granted, I didn't like the wetness of my body afterward, but two of Amber's towels took quick care of that, and the hair blower she showed me before she stepped out took care of the rest, despite my hair looking as if I had stepped into a vortex.

When I walked out of the bathroom, I was temporarily frozen at the sight greeting me. Soft music, reminiscent of the one she had played last night after the lights turned on, played in the background, and Amber swayed slightly to the beat of it.

Her brown hair was piled in the back of her head, but some shorter strands had come loose and hung adorably into her face. Now and then, she swiped her head or blew against them to get them out of her eyes, looking so endearing it warmed my heart.

She wore a piece of clothing on top of her clothes that was spattered with a white powdery substance. In her hands she held a long wooden utensil of sorts that she used to flip something over inside another flat contraption that sat on what she had called a stove, and from which flames licked against the flat contraption. What was it with humans and fire?

Didn't they know how destructive it could be? Especially when I looked at all the flimsy furniture, wall hangings, and knickknacks, not to mention the tree she brought into the house.

Still, all this tugged at my heart, made me feel more comfortable than I had been in years. And then there was the strong attraction between us. I barely suppressed a sudden urge to storm over to where she stood and pull her into my arms to kiss her senseless. Never had I seen a more attractive female than her, and I had seen plenty.

My brother and I were considered sought-after bachelors. Not on our own merit, well, Adred maybe, because he was a commander in his own right, but because we were the High Commander's sons. It bothered Adred that we were both considered high catches despite my lower rank, a fact that amused me to no end.

Anyway. Because of that, we were invited to every social gathering in the Galactic Union and mercilessly stalked by females on our personal profile accounts. I had seen various beauties of all species in varied amounts of clothing or lack thereof, but none compared to the beauty standing by an ancient-looking stove making breakfast for me.

"Smells delicious," I said when I realized that Amber remained oblivious to my entrance.

Startled, she looked up. The smile on her face at seeing me teetered; however, her lips quivered before she bit into them to keep from laughing. She lost her battle though and was soon bent over, while loud giggles escaped her.

I would be lying if I said my pride didn't take a beating at her laughing at me, but the sound of it made my soul sing, and I would have done anything for her, including hanging upside down naked from her rafters, if it meant she would have kept on laughing.

"Galexor," she tried catching her breath. She looked up at me, and her eyes sparkled with warm humor. Not once did I feel like she was belittling me or making fun of me.

"I'm sorry," she hiccuped. "I'm so sorry, but…" here she giggled again, "what happened to…" She snorted, and I couldn't help myself but broke out in loud laughter myself even though I had no idea what we were laughing about; it was just contagious. "Your hair?"

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