“I’m so sorry,” Abbie said, wishing she hadn’t brought up something so painful.
“Since I don’t have siblings,” Borgoz said, “Arabella doesn’t have cousins to play with. The children on our world have been accepting of her, but she doesn’t get invited very many places. And I feel that the invitations she does receive have more to do with my rank or their parents’ urging.”
“Maybe when our son or daughter is old enough to play, they’ll become friends,” Abbie said.
Larimar reached over and squeezed her hand. “The council is much like a family, so your Arabella will have cousins even if they aren’t by blood.”
Borgoz nodded. “Alrian does bring his children over on occasion for a visit, but I wish Arabella had someone to spend time with on a regular basis. I fear that she gets lonely sometimes, even though she has us.”
“Is she alone up there right now?” Abbie asked, hating to think of the sick child by herself.
“No, we have someone sitting with her for a little while. We wanted time for lunch today and didn’t want to rush you out the door the minute the meal was finished.” Borgoz smiled. “Arabella will be well taken care of until then.”
“Borgoz ordered some games from Earth that I played as a child,” Charlotte said. “We have a handful of board games and some card games. She’ll be entertained for a while. She also loves books.”
“I love to read too,” Abbie said. “I noticed there’s a library in town. I should check it out one day soon. Maybe my mother would like to go too.”
“How is your mother?” Borgoz asked.
“She’s doing well, but a little confused. She spent time with Lortok this morning. She had it in her head they were married for some reason, but he set her straight and promised he would be her friend. She stayed there for a little while and when she returned home she went to her room and took a nap,” Abbie said.
“Zaylon has been good with her,” Larimar said. “I know we had some concerns after the way he treated Victoria, but I think it’s safe to say he’s learned his lesson. He did agree, however, not to seek a bride for as long as Winona is with us. I wanted stability in her life and I wasn’t certain how she’d adjust to constant changes.”
Abbie took another bite of her food, her stomach feeling so full she thought she might burst. “This is really good.”
Charlotte smiled. “We can have human food anytime you’re here, if you’d like. I ask the chef to make it a few times a week, so that Arabella can experience both sides of her heritage. I don’t miss much from home, but I was starting to miss the food when I first came here. Once I was more comfortable with the staff here, I asked if some Earth cuisine could be made. They were very accommodating.”
They finished their meal and retired to the living room. Classical music played softly from somewhere and Abbie looked around the room, trying to figure out where it came from. Charlotte noticed and smiled.
“You noticed the music, didn’t you? Borgoz found a way for an MP3 player to pipe music through the house and plays it several times a day. It doesn’t last long because the device has to be charged every few hours. We have solar chargers here now for phones and other electronics. It’s made things so much better,” Charlotte said. “Borgoz had someone purchase a tablet for me and had it loaded with books and games. It’s helped pass the time.”
Larimar leaned back in his chair and looked at Abbie. “Would you like one too? You could tell me what types of books and games you like and I could have a device loaded and brought here for you.”
“Would you?” Abbie asked. “That would be so much better than watching movies all the time. Maybe you could get one for Momma and have it loaded with games she might be able to play?”
He nodded. “I’ll see to it when we return home.”
“I tried knitting,” Charlotte said. “But I’m a dismal failure at it. I couldn’t even knit a scarf. My stitches kept unraveling.”
“I don’t think I’d be very good at it either,” Abbie admitted. “I’ve never been able to do crafts with much success.”
Charlotte shrugged. “I’d never tried before and thought it looked easy enough, but I was wrong.”
Larimar and Borgoz stood.
“We’re going to leave the two of you to talk about whatever women discuss,” Borgoz said. “I have some files to show Larimar before the next council session convenes.”
Charlotte snorted. “Only you would turn a fun afternoon into a work session.”
“I don’t think Larimar minds,” Abbie said. “He’s a workaholic.”
Charlotte pointed at Borgoz. “That one is too.”
The men shared a pained expression and left with the women’s laughter following them. Charlotte moved a little closer, her eyes bright.
“Isn’t being married to one of them way better than a human guy?” Charlotte asked.
“Definitely. No one has ever made me feel the way Larimar does.”
Charlotte nodded. “Borgoz was my first, but no one had interested me until him. I knew almost immediately that I wanted him, and every time he pushed me away, it broke my heart a little more.”
“Why did he push you away?” Abbie asked.
“Silly man thought he was too old for me. There’s about twenty years between us.”
Abbie nodded. “Larimar tried to do the same thing. There’s twelve years between us, but it doesn’t bother me at all.”
The doorbell chimed and a moment later Abbie’s mother and Zaylon were escorted into the room. Abbie shot to her feet, worried.
“Momma? Is something wrong?”
Zaylon shrugged. “She was bored and insisted on coming to you. I’m sorry for the intrusion.”
Another commotion drew their attention to the stairs. A little girl was coming down the steps dressed in pajamas with a Zelthranite woman chasing after her. The woman was winded when they entered the room, the little girl looking at all of the strangers with wide eyes.
Charlotte began signing something that Abbie didn’t understand and the little girl answered back.
“I’m sorry,” Charlotte said. “It seems Arabella was bored too.”
“You said she’s not contagious. What if she brought a game down to play? I bet my momma would like that too,” Abbie said.
Winona nodded and looked at the little girl in curiosity.
“Momma, this is Arabella. She can’t hear and uses sign language. Maybe you’d like to learn it with me?” Abbie asked.
Her mother nodded and reached out to take the little girl’s hand. Arabella smiled up at Winona and Charlotte signed something else.
“I explained that your mother had an injury,” Charlotte said. “I wanted her to know that Winona is different like her.”
Someone brought a game into the room and Winona and Arabella sat in the middle of the floor to start playing, while Charlotte and Abbie talked some more. They visited for another hour and then Larimar suggested they head home so the Chief Councilor could spend some time with his family. She held Larimar’s hand as they walked back to their home, her mother and Zaylon trailing behind them.
“I take it you liked Charlotte,” Larimar said.
“Very much. I think I may have a new friend.”
He smiled.
“Thank you for taking me over there today,” Abbie said.
“I’m sorry we interrupted,” Zaylon said behind them.
“It worked out,” Abbie said. “I think Momma and Arabella may become friends.”
“Zaylon, would you take Winona upstairs for a little while?” Larimar asked as they entered their home. “There’s something I need to discuss with Abbie for a moment.”
“Of course,” Zaylon said, leading Winona upstairs.
“Follow me,” Larimar said, leading her upstairs to their bedroom.
She giggled when he shut the door. “You said you wanted to talk, but I have a feeling there’s something else on your mind.”
His gaze heated. “That too. Step out ont
o the balcony. I’ll be right there.”
She gave him a curious glance before obeying.
When he stepped out into the sunlight a few minutes later, he fell to his knees in front of her. “I had wanted to do something human for you before we were mated, but there wasn’t time.”
“Larimar, what are you doing?”
He pulled out a small, velvet box and popped the lid open. A wedding set was nestled in satin inside, the platinum bands shining and the diamonds sparkling. She gasped and hesitantly reached for them, only to draw her hand back.
“Those are for me?”
“I made you my wife and by Zelthranite standards that’s sufficient. But you’re human, and I want you to have the rings a married woman would wear on your world.” He took the rings from the box and slid them onto her finger then withdrew another box. “You belong to me, and I belong to you.”
Her jaw dropped a little as he removed a plain band from the second box and slid it onto his finger.
“You’re going to wear a wedding ring?” she asked.
“You mean the world to me, Abbie. Wearing a piece of metal on my finger is the least I can do for you. I want everyone on my world and yours to know that we belong to each other. And I will spend every day for the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.”
She pressed her lips to his. “You could start by showing me now.”
He smiled and lifted her into his arms, carrying her into the bedroom and easing her down his body. They slowly undressed one another, unable to keep their hands off each other. As their mouths met again in a hungry kiss, Larimar tumbled them to the bed and Abbie welcomed his weight over her.
He worshiped her body with his lips and tongue, his hands caressing every inch of her. Abbie felt like she was on fire. When his cock brushed against her, she wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting him to claim her. He entered her with one long, hard thrust and she cried out from the pleasure of it. Larimar took her hard and fast, their bodies coming together in a frenzy that left her breathless. Her heart raced and her hands gripped his shoulders, her nails biting into his skin.
As her release hit her, she cried out his name and clung tight to him. Larimar thrust harder until he came, filling her and making her feel complete. As they panted for breath and looked into one another’s eyes, she knew that he was the only one for her. He was her other half, the one person created just for her.
“I love you,” she said before kissing him softly.
“I love you too. For now and always,” he said.
She felt him growing hard again inside of her and knew it would be a while before they went in search of her mother and Zaylon. It seemed her sexy alien councilman had other matters on his mind. Giving herself to him completely, Abbie basked in his love and affection, until both were too exhausted to do much but sleep.
When she’d lost everything on Earth, she’d have never guessed that her life would turn out so perfectly. She had the love of an amazing man, her mother was back in her life, and she had new friends. Life couldn’t have been sweeter in that moment, and she looked forward to what every day in the future would bring.
Note from the Author
Hi, Readers!
Thank you so much for downloading a copy of Abbie and the Alien Official. Larimar’s story was a long time coming, but I think it turned out just right. A lot of times I’m asked if something in particular inspires me while I’m working, or where I get my ideas. There wasn’t any one particular thing that inspired this story, but instead of listening to music like I often do, there were a few movies I played in the background when I needed some extra noise while I worked on this book. I thought I’d share them with you.
Dirty Dancing
Labyrinth
Heartbreakers
Overboard
10th Kingdom
Beauty and the Beast (the new one)
Thanks again for joining me as I explore the world of Intergalactic Brides! I hope to have more stories to you in this series over the next year.
Jessica
Jessica Coulter Smith
Award-winning author Jessica Coulter Smith has been in love with the written word since she was a child writing her first stories in crayon. Today she’s a multi-published author of over seventy-five novellas and novels. Romance is an integral part of her world and spills over from her professional life into her personal one. When she went on that first date with her husband, she never expected to hear the words “marry me” pop out of his mouth -- and judging by the shocked look on his face, he hadn’t meant to say them either. But, being the hopeless romantic that she is, Jessica said yes and they’ve been married since 2000.
Jessica firmly believes that love will find you at the right time, even if Mr. Right is literally out of this world. She’s often gazed at the stars and wondered what, or who, else might be out there. Who’s to say that hunky model on the hottest romance bestseller isn’t really from some far-off galaxy? Maybe that blue Martian you saw at Halloween wasn’t really in costume. After all, there’s an awful lot of space out there for us to be the only ones living in it.
Jessica loves to hear from her readers! You can follow her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jessicacoultersmithauthor/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/kitcatjms).
Visit her website: http://www.jessicacoultersmith.com. Want to be noticed of new releases or special discounts? Sign up for her newsletter! (http://eepurl.com/bwPvbT). Find more books by Jessica Coulter Smith at http://www.changelingpress.com/author.php?uid=144
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