Page 28 of Protected By the Alien Knight

Realization dawns like a lead weight dropping into my gut. Suxie and Max, no doubt doing last-minute bridal party preparations before their vows and happening to stumble right into—

Oh stars. The mortification threatens to swallow me whole. I whip my head around to meet Crux’s gaze in outright panic, even as the voices and footsteps draw ominously nearer.

My mate regards me with agonizing calm despite our rather... compromised state. His fingers tenderly brush a damp tendril of hair back from my sweat-slicked brow as the barest hint of a lopsided smirk curves those delectable lips.

“Worth it,” is all he mouths in silent reassurance before claiming my mouth in another soul-searing kiss.

Thoroughly addled by his scorching possession, I’m barely aware of Max and Suxie finally rounding the corner, freezing comically mid-stride at finding us in such a deliciously debauched tangle. Their stunned silence stretches for several beats before—

“What the fuuuuuuu—Mom, not again!” Max’s outraged bellow shatters the stillness, echoing off the vaulted oak beams overhead.

Suxie, bless her, simply claps one palm over her eyes while casting about blindly. “Oh sweet cosmic winds, Annie...!”

Seconds later, she’s being towed forcibly away by her soon-to-be husband, still spluttering in apoplectic shock, undoubtedly planning new therapy years down the line to unsee that particular trauma. Crux and I can only remain there in a sweaty, pleasantly disheveled heap, breaking down into helpless peals of laughter at the absurdity.

“Right then,” I manage to gasp out at last, still trying to catch my breath. “Perhaps you were onto something about forgoing the big, grandiose wedding celebrations in the future.”

I trail off suggestively, arching an eyebrow at him as I brush a few stray tendrils of sweat-damp hair back from his forehead.

Crux’s amber eyes dance with barely concealed mirth as he registers my unspoken implication.

“You prefer a more... intimate occasion, my radiant one?” he rumbles against my overheated skin. “Just you, me, and perhaps the occasional shadowed alcove for deliciously indecent purposes?”

I shiver at the molten promise in his tone, feeling a fresh surge of need unfurling low in my belly despite our recent activities. Nodding frantically, I somehow manage to find my voice around the breathless whimpers spilling free.

“Yes... I think I’d much prefer your singularly thorough celebrations from now on, my star knight. No chaotic crowds or lofty expectations, just—” My words dissolve into a gasping moan as Crux’s wicked mouth blazes a scorching path down to the valley between my breasts, tongue swirling over the thundering pulse at my sternum.

“Just us reveling with wild abandon?” he finishes my thought in a gravelly murmur.

“Mhmm...” is all the coherent sound I can produce as Crux’s large palm engulfs the generous weight of my breast, thumb brushing over the peaked bud in teasing circles. “Just like that, my mate. Your ceremonies are the only ones that truly... unravel me.”

His chest rumbles with that low, sinful chuckle that never fails to make my knees go weak. “Then it’s decided,” Crux declares, claiming my mouth in another searing kiss. “Let the madding crowds clamor and shriek. Their outrage and scandalized posturing mean less than cosmic vapor to me.”

Pulling back just enough for our molten gazes to lock and merge, he brushes the pad of his thumb over my swollen bottom lip with infinite tenderness. “You are my eternal destiny, Annie.”

His solemn vow steals what little breath remains in my lungs, rendering me mute and utterly bare before the searing intensity of his focus. All I can do is thread my fingers into the dense thatch of his hair and pull him back down to me in a desperate claiming. Our groans of relief mingle, and this time I make no effort to stifle the wild, wanton sounds torn from me as our bodies reunite.

If we’re fortunate, perhaps the echoes of our ecstasy will linger long enough to scandalize the rest of polite society. The louder, the better. These sacred oaths of joining will always be my favorite ritual to revel in.

At least until the inevitable grandchildren come along...