breakfast?” He patted her butt as he got up.
Irritated by his cheerfulness, she glared at him as he used the laser shower, to no effect. The man was far too content to rebuke.
He slid into pants, not bothering with anything else. “Meet me in the kitchen after your shower. Unless you want to eat in bed,” he said, raking her with a hot look.
She didn’t think for a moment he was joking. The man had an appetite for more than food. With a disgruntled sigh, she slipped from the bed after he’d left, quickly showered and dressed. She had to talk sense into him.
Fred gave her that slow, smoky smile as she entered the kitchen, sliding a drink in front of her place as she sat down. Ignoring her blush, he gave her a sweet, hello-kind of kiss, then sat down and attacked his food.
Surprisingly hungry, Jay ate as she formulated her arguments. She knew enough about Fred to know they’d have to be good. “Listen, we have too ….”
“Do you love me?” he asked, surprising her into silence.
She blinked at him. “I just ... that doesn’t matter right now.”
“You love me and it doesn’t matter?”
“Well, it matters, but ….”
“Do you think you’ll stop loving me anytime soon?”
“I didn’t say I did love you!”
“Are you going to lie about it?” he asked curiously.
She clamped her mouth shut. Opening it only got her mired.
He took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “You were thinking about marrying me, right?”
“It crossed my mind until I knew your eyes glowed in the dark and you lived in another galaxy,” she said indignantly. “You withheld information, Fred. You’re the one in the wrong here, not me.”
He cocked his head. “So you’re not one of those, ‘love conquers all’ believers?”
She heaved an exasperated sigh. “I believe that people have to talk about things. Passion alone won’t drive a marriage long. Secrets get in the way.”
Fred shrugged and took another bite. “So now you know all my secrets. We should be fine.”
She gaped at him. “Are you crazy? I don’t even know if you can father a child. We never even talked about kids.”
“Oh, I intend to have kids, as many as you like. After last night, you could be carrying already.” His look was hot and mischievous.
She blushed. He hadn’t given her time to think about birth control or anything else. Making love with him hadn’t been a yes or no question—more like an exclamation point.
He leaned his chin on his fist and regarded her fondly. “Look, why don’t we give this time? Back on Earth, if I’d asked, you would have said yes. I could have married you there and then brought you here. So we skipped a few steps, sidestepped some questions. My guess is, we’ll work out just fine. Why don’t we just give it a shot and see what happens?”
As she stared at him, a lump rose in her throat. There was something vulnerable about his open expression. She didn’t want to hurt him. “And if it doesn’t?”
His smile was hopeful and sad at the same time, but his voice didn’t reflect it. “Then I’ll drag you into the bedroom and make love to you until you change your mind. I’m not giving up on us, Jay. We’re going to make this work.”
She couldn’t help a half smile. Who couldn’t love a man with his kind of confidence? “You have that much faith in yourself?”
“No. I have that much faith in you.”
* * * *
An hour later, she was still shaken by his answer. They’d cuddled on the couch watching alien comedies on the TV. She didn’t get all the jokes, but she loved laying in his lap, his hand stroking her hair. Could it be this easy? Was it possible to skip over all the angst in a courtship and just slide into contented marriage? She didn’t know how well she could adapt to his world, but she didn’t really have any issues with him. She didn’t want to fight, but she still had questions. “What about Tark?”
“Tark, who?” he teased, tickling her ear.
She swatted at him.
Irritated by his cheerfulness, she glared at him as he used the laser shower, to no effect. The man was far too content to rebuke.
He slid into pants, not bothering with anything else. “Meet me in the kitchen after your shower. Unless you want to eat in bed,” he said, raking her with a hot look.
She didn’t think for a moment he was joking. The man had an appetite for more than food. With a disgruntled sigh, she slipped from the bed after he’d left, quickly showered and dressed. She had to talk sense into him.
Fred gave her that slow, smoky smile as she entered the kitchen, sliding a drink in front of her place as she sat down. Ignoring her blush, he gave her a sweet, hello-kind of kiss, then sat down and attacked his food.
Surprisingly hungry, Jay ate as she formulated her arguments. She knew enough about Fred to know they’d have to be good. “Listen, we have too ….”
“Do you love me?” he asked, surprising her into silence.
She blinked at him. “I just ... that doesn’t matter right now.”
“You love me and it doesn’t matter?”
“Well, it matters, but ….”
“Do you think you’ll stop loving me anytime soon?”
“I didn’t say I did love you!”
“Are you going to lie about it?” he asked curiously.
She clamped her mouth shut. Opening it only got her mired.
He took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “You were thinking about marrying me, right?”
“It crossed my mind until I knew your eyes glowed in the dark and you lived in another galaxy,” she said indignantly. “You withheld information, Fred. You’re the one in the wrong here, not me.”
He cocked his head. “So you’re not one of those, ‘love conquers all’ believers?”
She heaved an exasperated sigh. “I believe that people have to talk about things. Passion alone won’t drive a marriage long. Secrets get in the way.”
Fred shrugged and took another bite. “So now you know all my secrets. We should be fine.”
She gaped at him. “Are you crazy? I don’t even know if you can father a child. We never even talked about kids.”
“Oh, I intend to have kids, as many as you like. After last night, you could be carrying already.” His look was hot and mischievous.
She blushed. He hadn’t given her time to think about birth control or anything else. Making love with him hadn’t been a yes or no question—more like an exclamation point.
He leaned his chin on his fist and regarded her fondly. “Look, why don’t we give this time? Back on Earth, if I’d asked, you would have said yes. I could have married you there and then brought you here. So we skipped a few steps, sidestepped some questions. My guess is, we’ll work out just fine. Why don’t we just give it a shot and see what happens?”
As she stared at him, a lump rose in her throat. There was something vulnerable about his open expression. She didn’t want to hurt him. “And if it doesn’t?”
His smile was hopeful and sad at the same time, but his voice didn’t reflect it. “Then I’ll drag you into the bedroom and make love to you until you change your mind. I’m not giving up on us, Jay. We’re going to make this work.”
She couldn’t help a half smile. Who couldn’t love a man with his kind of confidence? “You have that much faith in yourself?”
“No. I have that much faith in you.”
* * * *
An hour later, she was still shaken by his answer. They’d cuddled on the couch watching alien comedies on the TV. She didn’t get all the jokes, but she loved laying in his lap, his hand stroking her hair. Could it be this easy? Was it possible to skip over all the angst in a courtship and just slide into contented marriage? She didn’t know how well she could adapt to his world, but she didn’t really have any issues with him. She didn’t want to fight, but she still had questions. “What about Tark?”
“Tark, who?” he teased, tickling her ear.
She swatted at him.
Similar Books
