Page 33 of My Christmas Alien Mate

I sighed. Of course he wouldn't let go.

"It's just… you're a test pilot."

"So what?"

"You fly through space," I said with more force than I meant to. "You love taking risks and trying new things, new spaceships. This," I waved my hand around the kitchen, "is not a spaceship."

At that, we both laughed a little nervously.

"Are you worried I'll get bored with you?" he asked directly.

Miserably, I nodded. I didn't want to admit it, but it was there.

He kissed my lips. "I could never get bored of you, Amber. This," he waved his arms like I had, but not mockingly, "is a new adventure for me, and the more I immerse myself into it, the more I'm starting to like it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if you're willing to, I'm willing to give this a try, us. To give us a chance to see where this relationship goes."

"But… but your job?"

"Will always be there if things don't work out. That's the beauty of being the High Commander's son."

I nibbled on my lip. He was asking me to take a risk on him. A huge risk. He wasn't like any other boyfriend who I could call up when we had a fight to apologize, or to chase down when he misbehaved. He would take off into freaking space and never be heard from again. He would be the one with all the power.

"What if we have a fight, and you take off in your spaceship?" I voiced my fears.

"I would never do that, Amber," he replied sincerely enough for me to believe him. Then again, how many girls had fallen for that line, not coming from an alien?

"Look, I know you're taking a much bigger risk than me here, but I'm asking you to trust me." His eyes smoldered and conveyed sincerity.

He was asking me to fully open my heart to him, to let him in and live with the fear or worry that he could just be gone one day, and when I say gone, I mean gone as in unreachable gone. Forever. With no chance of stalking him or trying to convince him to come back.

Then again, if he did, would I even want him back?

Wasn't getting into a relationship, any relationship, a risk?

And wasn't he taking a risk too? Whenever somebody came by, or he went into town, he would have to disguise who he really was. If the government ever found out he was an alien, they could chase him down, take him away.

"Let's just see where this takes us, Amber, okay? One step at a time."

As if hypnotized, I found myself nodding. "Okay."

He smiled broadly. "Okay!"

"Areyoureadytomeet my family?" He asked.

That question alone would make any girl nervous, but when the family in question were aliens on board a freaking alien fleet orbiting Earth, that question took on a whole new level of significance.

"Don't worry, my father and brother will love you. They might question your sanity for wanting to be with me, but they'll treat you respectfully."

I wasn't sure if him putting so much emphasis on howrespectfullyhis family would treat me was reassuring or scaring me more, but I nodded, telling myself that every girl was nervous when they met their boyfriend's family.

Wait. Was that what he was? My boyfriend? I giggled because calling Galexor my boyfriend was like calling a lion a kitty. Totally inadequate.

"Do I have to go back into the lake?" I asked, remembering that this was where he hadparked,or whatever it was called, his spaceship.

"Considering how sick you got last time?" He shook his head. "Absolutely not. We'll wait until nightfall, and then I'll get the ship out of the water and pick you up."

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