Celeste and the Alien Bartender (Intergalactic Brides 8)

by Jessica Coulter Smith

  “A little, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. You’re bigger than anyone I’ve been with before, but that’s a good thing in my book.”

  His cock twitched, and her eyes widened. “Again? Already?”

  “I can satisfy my urge without pounding that sweet pussy. Lie on your back and spread your legs for me.”

  She was curious and did as he said. In this position, she had no clue how he was going to satisfy himself without taking her unless he intended to jerk off. In which case -- hot! Zanar knelt between her legs, running his palms up and down her thighs, pressing them wider.

  He gripped his cock and stroked it slowly as his heated gaze fastened on her pussy. Celeste cupped her breasts and played with her nipples while she watched him get off. He stroked faster, and within minutes he shot cum all over her pussy. If she’d thought she was bathed in it before, she really was now. Zanar reached for her, gathering the cum on his fingers then pressing them inside of her.

  She couldn’t remember ever being turned on so much before. Her clit throbbed, and she lifted her hips, taking his fingers deeper. Zanar grinned and leisurely fucked her with his fingers until she cried out his name, finding her release for the fifth time. If anyone had told her she could have five orgasms in one night, she’d have called them a liar. Her body was exhausted, and yet, she knew if he wanted more, she’d give it to him.

  “We should get cleaned up,” Celeste said as he stretched out beside her once more.

  “Not yet.”

  She squirmed. “But I’m all sticky.”

  “You mean you’re covered in my cum.” He smirked. “I’m aware. I kind of like it.”

  She rolled her eyes at him with a smile on her face. They lay together, talking quietly, for another hour and then she convinced him it was shower time. Sophie slept peacefully in her crib as they closed the bathroom door. Celeste turned the water on as hot as she could stand it before stepping under the spray. Zanar joined her, helping wash her hair and body. Her fingers itched to explore his body, and she took her time washing him. By the time they were finished, the water had cooled.

  They dried quickly, and Celeste checked on Sophie again. The baby was wide awake and grinned at her.

  “Should we put clothes on?” Zanar asked as he glanced in the crib.

  “She’s too young for it to matter right now. In a few more months, you can worry about it. I need to make her a bottle. Once she’s fed and changed, she’ll probably go back to sleep for a few more hours.”

  “Can I help?” he asked.

  “I’d love for you to help.” Celeste smiled.

  She carried the baby into the kitchenette and showed him where the bottles and formula were stored, then instructed him on how to prepare the bottle. They settled on the couch to feed Sophie and Zanar stared at her in fascination. After Sophie had been burped, she held the baby out to Zanar.

  “You want me to hold her?” he asked. “What if I drop her?”

  “You won’t. Just hold her close.”

  Zanar grabbed a throw pillow and tossed it across his lap before he reached for the baby. Celeste showed him how to hold her, and he smiled at Sophie as she studied his face. Her chubby fist reached for his hair, giving it a yank that made him wince.

  “I think she likes you,” Celeste said.

  “How can you tell?”

  “Because she’s not screaming like a banshee. She’s exploring, and trying to figure out who you are.”

  “Would… Would you be offended if she called me daddy? It’s what Thrace’s daughter calls him.”

  “She’s too young to remember her other dad. If you’re sure you want her to call you that, I don’t mind.”

  He smiled. “She already feels like she’s mine.”

  Celeste got Sophie’s attention and pointed to Zanar. “Can you say daddy?”

  Sophie babbled.

  “Don’t take offense if it takes her a while to say it. She still hasn’t said momma.”

  Zanar shrugged. “Maybe she’s just not ready to talk.”

  Sophie yawned and snuggled against Zanar’s chest, closing her eyes. Celeste smiled as she watched her daughter fall asleep, completely trusting in the purple alien holding her. Celeste motioned for Zanar to follow her into the bedroom. She took the baby from him and eased her down into the crib, lying her on her back.

  “Will you stay the night?” Celeste asked.

  “I’d love to.”

  Celeste took his hand and led him to the bed, pulled down the covers, and crawled into bed. When Zanar lay down, she curled into his side and rested her head on his chest. With his arms around her, she fell into the best sleep she’d had since being abducted.

  Chapter Seven

  Zanar woke the next morning feeling more contented than he ever had before. Celeste was snuggled in his arms, and the baby was cooing in her crib. Not wanting to wake his mate, he eased out from under her and went to the living room to retrieve his underwear. He pulled his T-shirt over his head and then went to check on Sophie. She smiled up at him as he reached into the crib to pick her up. A noxious smell greeted his nose, and he felt a mild panic over changing a diaper on his own.

  He pulled his cell phone from his jeans pocket and Googled how to change a diaper. Once he felt semi-comfortable with the procedure, he decided to give it a try. It only took a few tries and three diapers before he had Sophie adequately covered. The hotel had returned the baby’s new clothes in fresh laundry bags. He dug out one of the one piece outfits and tried to wrangle her into it. Pleased with his progress, he hoped like hell he remembered how to make a bottle.

  “Are you hungry, princess?” he asked Sophie.

  She babbled at him and yanked on his hair.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” He smiled down at her.

  Making the bottle with one hand was a lot harder than he’d thought, but he managed. When Sophie started slurping hungrily from the nipple, he eased down onto the couch and watched her with fascination. Her gaze was fastened on his face, and he wondered what she thought of him. She seemed to have accepted him easily enough, but he didn’t know enough about babies to know if she liked him. Celeste seemed to think she did.

  The baby finished her bottle, and he grabbed the cloth Celeste had used last night and burped her. How hard was too hard when patting a baby’s back? He decided rubbing would have to do. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally hurt the tiny thing. She let out a belch that would have done a grown man proud, and he eased her back into the crook of his arm. Sophie smacked her lips and seemed content to stare at him. Was he supposed to talk to her?

  “You’re going to see a lot of me. I’m going to be your daddy. Can you say daddy?”

  She cooed at him and waved a fist.

  “Your mommy is very special to me. You’re special to me too. I don’t know anything about babies, but I’m going to learn. I promise to be the best daddy I can be.”

  She blinked but didn’t make a sound.

  “My friend Thrace has a little girl. She’s several years older than you, but I bet the two of you will be friends. Her name is Lily.”

  Sophie smacked her lips and blew a raspberry at him.

  “I have other friends with kids you can play with. My best friend is Reyvor, and he has a lot of kids. One isn’t much older than you, but the others are a bit ahead of you. I’m sure they’ll all love you.”

  The baby yawned and began to squirm. He didn’t have a clue what she wanted but decided to put her on the floor and see what she would do. Was she mobile yet? All he’d seen her do so far was eat and sleep. He laid her on her back like he’d seen Celeste do when she put her to sleep. Sophie scrunched her nose and rolled onto her stomach. A moment later, she began crawling toward the toys a few feet away. She picked up a blue plastic elephant that rattled and began chewing on it.

  Zanar wondered if Celeste had shown her the television yet. Was it all right for a baby to watch television? If he was doing something wrong, Celeste would wake up and ye
ll at him for it. He wouldn’t learn what he could and couldn’t do with the baby unless he tried out some things, or his mate gave him a list. He found one of those animated shows Reyvor’s kids seemed to like and watched as Sophie honed in on the show. She inched closer to the television and stared at it, completely fascinated.

  While Sophie was occupied, he went to the kitchenette and brewed a pot of coffee. He stood at the counter and kept an eye on Sophie while he waited for the coffee to be ready. When the machine shut off, he poured himself a cup then settled on the sofa again. His stomach growled, and he wondered how long Celeste would sleep. Maybe he should order room service? He’d eaten with her enough times by now that he had some idea as to what she liked.

  He placed the call, ordering enough pancakes, bacon, eggs, and grits for two, along with a carafe of orange juice. When the food arrived, he grabbed a plate and sat on the couch to eat and watch over Sophie. She’d barely looked away from the television since she’d discovered it. Zanar finished his breakfast then stretched out on the floor to play with Sophie. Celeste found them a half hour later as she stumbled into the room rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “How long as she been awake?” Celeste asked.

  “A little while. I changed her, gave her a bottle, and introduced her to the television. I hope that was okay.”

  Celeste smiled. “It’s fine. I was going to show it to her last night, but she was having so much fun with her toys I never got around to it. So, she likes cartoons?”

  “Definitely.”

  Celeste wandered over to the kitchenette and poured herself some coffee before grabbing a plate of breakfast off the cart. She sat on the couch and ate while she watched them play, a smile on her face. If she was at all worried about him taking care of Sophie on his own, she didn’t show it.

  “Did you have plans for today?” Zanar asked.

  “Just spending time with Sophie. Do you have to work tonight?”

  “I thought I would take a few nights off. I’ll have to go in at some point during the day to clean out the safe and make a deposit. The two of you can go with me if you’d like.”

  “Take the baby to a bar?”

  “It’s not like it’s going to be open.”

  “All right. We’ll go with you.”

  Zanar got to his feet and claimed the seat next to her. “What do you think about taking Sophie to the zoo today? She’d probably love all the animals. I’ve been a few times with my friend and his kids. They go nuts when we’re there.”

  “I’d like to meet your friends sometime.”

  “If you don’t mind sharing your time with Sophie today, I could ask Reyvor and Thrace if they’d like to bring their kids and meet us at the zoo.”

  Celeste smiled. “That would be great. I met Thrace when I first got here. He was really nice to me.”

  Zanar scowled. “How nice?”

  She playfully swatted his arm. “Not that nice. He told me about his daughter and his mate. He treated me like a friend or a sibling.”

  “I’ll call them now while you finish your breakfast, then we should probably shower and get dressed. If you aren’t too tired after the zoo, I could show you the house where we’ll live.”

  Celeste cocked her head and studied him. “How soon do you want us to move in?”

  “Is now too soon?”

  She laughed. “If we’re spending the day at the zoo, better make it tomorrow. I think I’ll be too tired to pack when we get back, and you’ll have to get the crib to your house.”

  He blanched. “I don’t have to take it apart again, do I?”

  “Not if it will fit through the door.”

  “I’ll make it fit.”

  “Why don’t you shower first since you’ve been up longer? I’ll watch Sophie, then we can trade off. She’s going to need a different outfit for the zoo, but I can get her ready.”

  Zanar leaned over to give her a gentle kiss before going to take his shower. When he was finished and dressed, Sophie was sporting a cute dress and little white shoes. Celeste was struggling to pull the stroller out of the box, and Zanar rushed over to help her.

  “I’ll take care of this while you get ready.”

  He managed to pull the stroller out of the box, then read the instructions to make sure it was snapped together correctly. Buckling Sophie in was another matter, but he managed to figure it out. She stared up at him as if to ask why she was belted down with nothing to do. Zanar picked up a small stuffed bear and the blue elephant she’d been chewing on earlier, handing her both. She banged the stuffed toy on the tray and went back to gnawing the elephant.

  “Well, you’re easy to please.” He smiled.

  Zanar grabbed his cell phone and called both Reyvor and Thrace, arranging to meet at the zoo within the hour. He could hear the squeals of their children in the background and couldn’t wait to see all of them again.

  When Celeste stepped back into the room, his breath left him. She looked stunning in a red sundress that hugged her curves and dipped low over her breasts. With her looking like that, he wondered if he should throw her over his shoulder and carry her to the bedroom instead of going to the zoo. The cooing baby in front of him reminded him why that wasn’t such a great idea.

  “You look beautiful,” he told Celeste. “I called Reyvor and Thrace. They’re both meeting us there with their families.”

  “Then we should go. We don’t want to keep them waiting.”

  Zanar watched as she pushed the stroller and held the door open for her. When they reached the lobby, he froze.

  “What’s wrong?” Celeste asked.

  “We didn’t get that baby seat thing you bought. The one you said goes in the car?”

  She fished the room key out of her pocket and handed it to him.

  “I took it out of the box last night. It’s next to the kitchenette against the wall. If you can put it in your truck, I’ll show you how to fasten it in there and how to put Sophie in the seat.”

  “I’ll be right back.” He brushed a kiss on her cheek.

  It only took him a few minutes to retrieve the seat and get back to Celeste. They walked out of the hotel together, and he watched as she anchored the car seat in the backseat of his truck. She showed him how to fasten Sophie into the seat, then unbuckled the baby to let him try. A few more minutes of storing the stroller and they were on their way.

  The zoo was a half hour away, and when they arrived, Thrace and Reyvor were already there with their families. Zanar took a moment to introduce everyone. Celeste seemed at ease with Reyvor’s mate, Hazel, and with Thrace’s mate, Avelyn. He wanted her to like them because they were important to him. Not having family on Earth, he had formed a bond with the males and their mates and children.

  They entered the zoo and veered to the right. Sophie stared at everything with wide eyes. Zanar took a lot of pictures with his cell phone. Celeste talked easily to the other women and the children fawned over Sophie. They spent hours studying every animal they saw, taking a break for lunch at one of the cafés, and even going through the gift shop on the way out. Sophie was enthralled with a stuffed tiger, so Zanar bought it for her. Celeste assured him it was baby safe with hand sewn eyes instead of buttons.

  Celeste looked ready to drop by the time they were buckled in the truck and heading back to the hotel, and Sophie was asleep before they pulled out of the parking lot. He smiled, having enjoyed his time with his new family. Except he couldn’t claim them legally yet. Not until he’d gotten permission from the council. And there was the little matter of getting a ring for Celeste. Even though she’d agreed to be his mate, he still wanted to give her a human proposal.

  At the hotel, he helped her get Sophie upstairs and settled in her crib.

  “I have an errand to run, and then I need to stop by the house to get a change of clothes. Be ready at five in your best attire, both of you. I’m taking my girls out to a nice dinner tonight.”

  Celeste kissed his cheek. “You don’t have to wine an
d dine us. We’d be fine with takeout.”

  “No, we’re going to eat at the best restaurant in town.”

  “Very well. We’ll be ready.”

  Zanar kissed her once more and then dashed out the door. Before he went home, he made a very special stop at the same jeweler his friends had used when purchasing their wedding rings. He didn’t know what kind of stone Celeste would prefer, but he was determined that she would have a sign of his affection. And when he placed the ring on her finger at dinner, he would tell her how much he loved her.

  The man behind the counter smiled at him as he stepped into the shop.

  “May I help you with something today?” the man asked.

  “I need an engagement ring.”

  “Are you looking for a particular style?”

  “I’m hoping I’ll know the one when I see it.”

  The man nodded. “Our engagement rings are in the two middle cases. If there’s something you’d like to see up close, I’ll be happy to take it out of the case. Will you need a line of credit? I could get the paperwork started.”

  “I’m hoping to pay cash, but I guess that will depend on how much the ring is. I don’t think Celeste would like something overly large and flashy. I have trouble getting her to spend my money so I don’t think she’d be happy with me dropping a ton on a ring.”

  The man smiled. “Of course. If you need any help, just let me know.”

  Zanar perused the two cases, staring at every ring several times before he’d narrowed it down. There was a beautiful ring with a yellow stone surrounded by smaller pale blue stones.

  “Could I see this one?” he asked, pointing out the ring.

  The man removed it from the case and showed it to him. “It’s a three-carat canary diamond and those chips are blue topaz. The band is made of white gold.”

  “I think she would love it. How much is it?”

  “Ten thousand.”

  Zanar could afford it, and was fairly certain Celeste would love it. “I’ll take it. Do you accept checks or bank cards?”

  “There’s a three-day hold on checks.”