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No. Begone, intrusive thought. Jesus Christ on a cracker.
I snapped the book shut, fighting to maintain the sort of cool, placid demeanour my mother had always expected of me but had always been so fucking hard for me to fake.
“I… I see… Um…”
My brain was short circuiting. There was not a single word left in my head to grasp onto.
But really, what was there to say about the fact that your new alien husband had jerked off to porn he’d doodled of you before your arrival? Very nice use of shading and colour, Fallon? You have a great artistic eye?
“If you think you’re feeling well enough…”
Oh, boy. Here it came. He was going to ask me to act out the book. I could feel it.
“… then I’m going to leave you for a moment.”
Oh. Hold on. What?
Fallon ran a thumb down my bandaged knee then stood.
“I unhitched Kolt and Reesha but I still have to rub them down and make sure they have enough water after the long day.” His face twisted in an apologetic grimace. “I’ll hurry, though.”
Rub them down. Why was I imagining Fallon rubbing me down right now?
And why was I disappointed he was leaving?
“Of course!” I squeaked out. “That’s fine. I’m fine.”
Fallon didn’t move. It was like he was planted there in the room, a big, orange, immovable tree.
“Seriously, go. I’m fine,” I reiterated, flapping a dismissive hand at him. I needed some space and some time to think, not to mention the fact that I didn’t want his cute alien horses suffering just because I had a stupid bloodied knee.
“Keep your leg elevated,” Fallon instructed at the same moment that he bent down and grabbed my ankles. In one swift movement, he removed my boots and swung my legs up onto the bed. He plumped up a pillow behind me, then shoved a second one under my bandaged knee. “Don’t move!”
With that, my new husband raced from the room.
10
FALLON
Ihad not known that having a wife would be so incredibly stressful. It was only her first night here and already, she was injured. I fretted about things like blood-loss and infection as I took care of Kolt and Reesha for the night. Maybe this was why Silar was so tense all the time. He lived in constant terror of something happening to Cherry.
But such stress was worth it. She was worth it. A human wife might be a delicate and difficult thing to take care of, but I knew that I was up to the task.
Even working more quickly than usual, my chores took longer than I would have liked. When I hurried back inside, I found Magnolia in the kitchen, clearing the last few plates from the table.
“I can do that,” I told her quickly. She smiled and shook her head. She had changed into a different outfit, a loose shirt and pants, and her hair was bound up underneath a silky-looking scarf.
“It’s the least I can do. Thank you for the food and for letting me stay here,” she said, bringing the last plate over to the sink. Realizing I’d left all the broken pieces of the other plate in a pile, I immediately retrieved the broom and began sweeping them into a dustpan.
“I went and said goodnight to Darcy,” Magnolia said. The mere mention of my wife’s name sent my spine straightening. She turned kind brown eyes on me. “She’s fine, you know. A little bloodied knee is nothing to worry about. I promise.”
“Are you sure?” I pressed. “Because her skin is very, very soft.”
Incredibly so. So much so that it had made my throat go dry when I’d touched her.
Magnolia laughed as she headed towards one of the spare bedrooms on the other side of the house.
“I’m sure. Goodnight, Fallon.”
