by Tasha Black
“You’ll be an incredible sheriff,” he realized out loud. “And the people of Clotho would be crazy not to elect you.”
“I didn’t say yes,” she said.
“You refused?” He couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t like his plucky mate not to rise to a challenge.
“I just adopted a baby, and I’ve got a new relationship to figure out,” she said. “I wanted to think about it first, and I wanted to talk to you.”
“You wanted to talk to me?” he echoed, moved. Aurora Day was the most independent person he had ever met.
“Of course,” she said. “I really do want to say yes though.”
“Hell, yes,” he replied. “I’m all for it. And Lyra and I will be fine, we always have been. We’ll make sure to have a hot meal for you when you get home to tell us about your day.”
“It can be dangerous work,” Aurora warned him.
“Aurora,” he said carefully. “I’ve only known you a short time. But I doubt that anything less than a dangerous job would hold your interest for long.”
She went up on her toes and kissed him like she meant it. He was seeing stars by the time she pulled away.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
“For what?” he asked.
“For having my back,” she said.
“I always will,” he told her. “So are you going to go back there and tell her yes?”
“Not tonight,” Aurora said with a half-smile.
“Why not?”
“Two reasons,” she said. “The first is that I told her I would think about it, contingent on a pardon being issued.”
“Sure, you want that to be official, can’t be sheriff with a target on your own head,” he agreed.
“No, I already have mine,” she said, patting her pocket. “The one I want is for Ethel and Franc.”
He shook his head in wonder.
“You thought about them, with everything that was happening to you?”
“They’re our neighbors,” she said, sounding slightly affronted. “And they’re good people. They deserve to the peace of mind that comes from not having to constantly monitor the newsfeeds and look over their shoulders. That’s no way to live. Trust me.”
“That’s wonderful, love. And I’m sure she can make it happen,” he told her. “What was the other reason?”
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to do, but haven’t been able to get to it,” she said, distracting him by running her open palm down his chest to his abs. “I was hoping to finally be claimed by a dragon tonight.”
Mine, the dragon roared in his chest.
He lifted her in his arms, devouring her mouth, pressing her close until they had to stop for breath.
When he pulled back slightly, she was smiling at him. It was like sunlight in his heart.
He scooped her up and carried her up the stairs before anything else could interfere. She was right. They had waited too long already.
“I want a bath,” she whispered.
“Later,” he told her.
“I’m hungry,” she tried.
“After,” he said. “You can eat something after.”
“What about the baby?” she asked. “Doesn’t the mating thrall go on for days?”
“Who told you that?” he asked, stopping in his tracks.
“I might have looked it up,” she admitted.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Ethel and Franc have the baby,” he told her. “They can keep her an extra day or two if we need them to. We’ll send word to the ambassador that you’re taking the job when we take a break for food. Sound good?”
“That sounds amazing,” she said, leaning in for a kiss.
He placed her down on the bed and climbed in after her, carelessly ripping off his own clothes as he did.
She watched him with luminous eyes, and held perfectly still as he tore her clothing from her body.
He paused for a moment, hovering over her, gazing down at her strong, curvy body, her shimmering bronze curls, and the beautiful expression of trust and desire in those blue, blue eyes.
His own body rippled with need and he fell on her, all his resistance gone as he pressed kisses to her forehead, her cheeks, her neck, her perfect breasts.
27
Aurora
Aurora was reeling.
Sensations gripped her, the pull of Kade’s hot mouth on her nipples, the feel of his big hands, encircling her waist, moving lower to cup her hips.
Even more overwhelming was the powerful feeling of belonging. His love wrapped around her stronger than his arms ever could, filling her heart.
He nuzzled her belly and she arched up to meet him, unashamed of the shape of her body, knowing he loved every imperfect inch of her.
She could feel his dragon, nosing at the boundary between them. Its aching need was palpable, shimmering in the air.
When Kade pressed her thighs apart, she braced herself for him to take her.
Instead, he buried his face in her sex as he had before, drinking her in as she screamed out her pleasure.
She tried to hold back her climax, but his mouth was so clever, so cruel.
When he had pushed her so close that her muscles trembled, he pulled away.
She moaned her frustration, but he crawled on top of her, caging her head in his arms.
“This is forever, Aurora Day,” he told her, his jaw clenched, voice so deep she could feel it in her belly.
“Yes,” she said. “I want forever.”
When he sank into her, she nearly screamed with ecstasy.
She could feel his love, his need, the roaring satisfaction of the dragon, and her own pleasure, lifting her up, twining their souls.
Kade roared as he drew out of her and plunged in again, sending them both toward paradise.
She clung to him, happy to be dependent on someone, to trust that he would always take care of her needs, here and everywhere else.
The pleasure sent her flying, and suddenly it was as if she was floating above herself, above the man she loved, the little town, the whole lush moon of Clotho, the universe revealing itself to her for an instant, obliterating her with love.
Kade shouted out his own climax and she felt him swell impossibly inside her, filling her, carrying her home.
28
Aurora
Aurora surveyed the little town from the back of her favorite wing-steed.
Shopkeepers were setting up their tents in the square, children were laughing and playing in the tiny front lawns of the houses closest to town, and coaches were kicking up dust as they approached from the long road.
Clotho was at peace, and she was proud of her part in it.
Her wing-steed pawed the stones, reminding her that it was time for lunch.
“Okay, Rebel,” Aurora told her, patting the long, feathery neck. “Let’s go.”
As they ambled past Gar’s shop, she caught a glimpse of him inside, helping a customer.
He met her eye and gave her a funny little salute.
Now that she was sheriff, and there were no more payments for protection, the old shop keep was grateful to her. She was glad if she and Kade had managed to make life better for the people of Clotho.
This frontier moon was a little rough around the edges, but it had so much promise. It reminded her a bit of herself.
She dismounted and led Rebel to the sheriff’s stables.
“Hey, Sheriff,” said the man who’d been the sheriff before her, taking the wing-steed’s reins from her.
“Morning, Grogo,” she replied.
Ambassador Scott had wanted to take the man into custody, but Aurora had convinced her to try something different. Aurora was a firm believer in second chances.
Tending to the wing-steeds was a demotion, but one Grogo seemed to enjoy. Maybe working with people had been a bad idea for him. Here in the stables, he could be king of all he surveyed, even if that meant mucking stalls and feeding the unfriendly birds.
She suspected he would stay on stable duty even when she felt his lesson had been learned and she offered him a different job.
For now, he was officially on parole for his crimes and ordered to give every vendor he had stolen from a portion of his wages for the next decade or so until his debt was paid.
Aurora could have given him a far greater punishment, but she was a leader, not an asshole.
His future had been her first test of how she could manage to be a sheriff and not abuse her power. She liked to think she had nailed it. And the people of Clotho seemed to agree. No one had even come forward to run against her for the position of Sheriff.
“Thanks,” Aurora said. “I’ll be back for her after lunch.”
“I’ll make sure she’s well fed,” he replied.
They nodded to each other and she stepped back into the sunshine.
The walk home was pleasant. The surface of the lake shimmered and she swore she could see her friend, Phoebe, standing out on her dock on the far shore, looking over her domain. Aurora was pretty sure it was Phoebe’s dock she’d dropped that giant tree on, which meant she and Kade owed her a visit and an apology. The thought of seeing her friends again made her smile, and she wondered if Luna would be able to make it as well. She must have been dying to know what was going on after Aurora had pulled her aside and practically stolen her clothes.
She laughed at the thought of trying to explain it to them, and made up her mind to make the visit happen sooner rather than later.
“Aurora,” Kade cried when she walked in the door.
“Ma,” Lyra echoed ecstatically from the sling between his shoulder blades, where he had her secured while he cooked.
Aurora hurried over and wrapped her arms around them from behind.
Kade placed his hand over hers and Lyra laughed.
“We’re glad you’re home,” he told her.
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” she told him, closing her eyes and taking in his warmth and the smell of good food cooking.
Aurora Day had been a rebel and a wanted woman. She had built bombs, stowed away on cruisers, and even won a contest to become the sheriff of a frontier moon.
She’d made a few enemies, and hopefully more friends.
But the people in the circle of her arms, the love that permeated this home, these were the most incredible things that had ever happened to her.
And she was never, ever going to let go.
***
Thanks for reading Kade!
Are you ready for more steamy action from the Alien Adoption Agency on the frontier moon of Clotho? Do you want to see what happens between Tyro and Phoebe when the refined daddy’s girl finds out the farm she was promised is underwater? Are you dying to learn about the secret that Phoebe is carrying with her, and what she’ll do when the locals decide she doesn’t belong?
Then keep reading for a sample of Tyro: Alien Adoption Agency #3.
Or grab your copy now!!
https://www.tashablack.com/alienadoption.html
Tyro - SAMPLE
1
Phoebe
Phoebe had a secret.
She held it close to her heart as she hugged her friends goodbye, clinging to her secret, and the handle of her antique trunk, with the same white-knuckled determination.
“I don’t know how I’ll do this without you and Luna,” she told Aurora, embracing her friend with the arm that wasn’t clutching the trunk.
Aurora hugged her back, hard - she was surprisingly strong.
“What ho, ladies,” a deep voice boomed out in an indecorous manner.
She turned to the source with a deliberate slowness, so as not to encourage such a familiar tone. She was greeted with a not entirely unpleasant view of the muscular, green guard who carried her newly adopted son.
“Atlas wants his mama to find her new home right away so she can give him some supper,” he told her, smiling in a teasing manner that made her feel warm all over, and then angry.
Atlas.
Who would name an infant for the god who was supposed to have held up old Earth on his shoulders? The only thing that chubby baby was going to hold up was her plans for the future.
She glanced at Aurora, who up until now had always been the life of the party.
Aurora was gazing at the golden servant who held her own new child. She looked like she had seen a ghost.
“Are you going to be okay?” Phoebe heard herself ask.
It was a monumentally stupid question. Aurora was an undercover rebel leader with an intergalactic bounty on her head. Disappearing on this frontier moon would probably be the easiest thing she had ever done.
“Of course,” Aurora said, turning to Phoebe with a smile. “If you get too lonely for me, just send up a flare or something. We’ll get settled in and find each other again, I’m sure.”
But Aurora’s blue gaze went to the horizon and Phoebe saw the moon through her friend’s eyes for a moment.
It was vast.
And it was unlikely they would ever see each other again.
But there wasn’t really time to argue. Aurora was already heading down the hillside to board a pretty blue wing-steed drawn coach with her baby and its golden guard.
The third adoptive mother of their little group, Luna, had disappeared into the woods a few minutes ago on the back of a moose with antlers that looked like trees.
Surely, Phoebe’s own conveyance would arrive soon, so she could get started with her own new life.
Her two friends knew that Phoebe had grown up on a farm. It was clear they had a vision of what that meant - a small farmhouse full of children in shabby clothing, a dusty plot of land out of which wizened parents had to coax a sickly crop.
But that was a long way from Phoebe’s life.
Luna and Aurora were both from Terra-4, a planet so poor it was almost a universal joke.
The very first Terra was almost an heirloom planet, lavished with tourism dollars from Terrans all over the galaxy wanting to taste the closest thing to “old home”.
But the other lower Terras were nightmarish. They had been terraformed by early methods and had none of the newer technology and resources of the later Terras because of it.
When Phoebe had mentioned life back on ’12, the other two had teased her so much for being rich that she hadn’t had the heart to tell them that she was from Terra 212, not Terra 12.
Life on the family camellia plantation on Terra 212 had been easy and pleasant. Phoebe had hosted tea parties and book club meetings in an elegant mansion overlooking the fields, where an army of droids harvested the fragrant blossoms under her father’s gentle direction.
She made the seasonal pilgrimages to town with her father, to drink the local brew and negotiate the sale of the crop.
Otherwise, she lived a quiet, cushioned life with little excitement.
She had planned to stay on with her daddy forever. Her older brother had already married and produced the requisite two grandchildren, so there was no pressure on Phoebe to find a husband.
Phoebe pictured herself growing old in the mansion, reading the latest books, smelling the camellias, and never answering to any man but her sweet, single father, who had raised her to be every bit as independent as he was.
But when the drought came, it brought unexpected problems.
Problems that could be so easily solved by the right marriage. And after all, the boy from the farm next door with the river running through it had always liked Phoebe.
Her father had given her a beautiful life and never asked anything of her. So when he mentioned that Cash Donovan from next door might come calling, what was she supposed to do?
Cash was attractive enough, with that shock of dark hair, devilish blue eyes, and breeches so tight they left little to the imagination. There were worse alternatives, to be sure.
It had been a whirlwind courtship.
Bu
t the night before the wedding, Aurora’s best friend Lottie had come to her window.
Lottie told her that Cash had been sleeping with the widow Jones for years, and now he was telling everyone that he was only marrying Aurora for her land.
And though Aurora was really only marrying Cash for his water, the whole thing was a horrifying affront.
She had packed a few bags and snuck out of the house and down the country road to town, catching a hovercraft to the nearest station and then buying a ticket for the first shuttle off-planet.
In the first-class lounge, she browsed the message board. There were advertisements for the high-end luggage sources, and plenty of reminders to luxuriate at destination hotels.
And there was one modest invitation to interview with the Alien Adoption Agency, for an opportunity to parent a child in exchange for a plot of fertile farmland.
I could be like my father, Aurora had thought to herself. A single parent with a beautiful farm to tend, and no one to answer to but myself and the land.
She had sent her communication before she boarded the shuttle. And the Alien Adoption Agency had been waiting for her on the other side when she got off.
The intake process had been strange at best, but here she was.
Ready to start a new life.
“Are you ready?” the enormous green man asked her with a big, dumb grin.
The baby in his arms chuckled.
Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Sure, where’s the coach?”
“There is no coach,” the man replied. “We’re just heading down to the lake.”
She glanced down at the murky water below. “That’s a long walk.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “We’d better get moving if we want to get there before dark.”
She set her trunk down and indicated that he should take it.