Page 28 of Badass Alien Boss

He read between the lines. “You’re not going to screw up.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know you. You will always do your absolute best, and that is not a screwup.”

“That’s sweet of you to say.”

“I mean it.”

“What areyouafraid of?” she asked.

He had anticipated the question. “Well, dying, but it’s not at the top of the list because there are worse things.”

“Like what?”

“Being less than.” The cover of darkness pulled the truth out of him. A man did not go around admitting his deepest fears and failings, but here in the darkness, where he didn’t have to look her in the eye, confessions felt anonymous, and the admission tumbled out as if it had been waiting for release.

“You arenotless than! Do you hear me? You are one badass motherfucker.”

Her surprising vehemence convinced him of her sincerity, and his heart stuttered in his chest. But while she saw him as badass, he was pretty sure others did not. He didn’t see himself that way. He didn’t wish to mislead her as to what he’d become. If she built him up to be some kind of hero, she’d soon realize he wasn’t. No one forgave an idol who fell from the pedestal they’d put him on.

“You don’t see me the way others do.”The way I see myself.

He felt her moving, and then he jerked and inhaled when she cupped his cheeks. Her hands were soft, but beneath the softness lay the strength of steel. He couldn’t see phuk, but she was so close, her alcohol-scented breath wafted across his face.

“This is what I see!” She kissed him.

He froze, stunned beyond all reason, but her lips were moving on his, and all the suppressed yearning burst out of him. With a groan, he sought entrance to her mouth, and she gave it, parting her lips.

He was drowning in pure sensation, in the touch, taste, smell, and feel of her. Her heated breath and warm, avid mouth stoked his smoldering, aching desire. Tongues met in a sensual dance of need too long denied.

He pulled her onto his lap, the better to hold her close, and her little hitch of pleasure sent hot electric pulses coursing through him.How long? How long has she been feeling what I’ve been feeling?

“This…this…is crazy,” he murmured. The darkness, the alcohol, her proximity, and pent-up desire undermined willpower and common sense. They had to work together. She would be leaving. Her time on Luturna served as a means to an end. And it would end.

“Crazy-good or crazy-bad?” She brushed her lips against his.

They-should-stop crazy, but how could he not hold her and kiss her when every cell of his being craved it? “The light will come on.” When lust subsided, she’d see him for what he really was.

“All the better,” she said.

“I didn’t mean it literally.”

“I know what you meant. I’ve never gotten involved with a client before—or a boss. But I like you, and I’m crazy-attracted to you. I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to pretend I’m not. But life is short. Time is fleeting. Do you want to waste it?”

I don’t want to be a pity phuk.As soon as he thought it, he was ashamed and angered by his insecurity. Michaela wouldn’t do that. There were few things about which he held certainty anymore, but he was certain of her.

“What if it’s awkward?” he asked.

She laughed. “It won’t be any more awkward than the first couple of days when you didn’t want me here.”

“You would remind me.” He slipped his hand under her hair to her nape. Her skin was soft and warm. “You make formidable arguments.”

“As long as they’re convincing—or maybe you’re not attracted to me?”

“You’re sitting on my hard-on.”

“So I am.” She wiggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, and their lips met in another searing kiss.