Mama and the Alien Warrior (Treasured By The Alien #1) - Honey Phillips Page 0,56

not been his mate, he would have been impressed by the way she worked with her females, directing their tasks with firm patience and easy laughter.

The resulting meal was delicious, and once again, dinner proved to be a relaxed occasion. He and Jedan had set up a schedule so that each of the younger crew members had a chance to encounter the human females, and he was pleased to see that they had taken his words to heart. His warriors remained polite and respectful despite their obvious awe.

As he fed Tiana, he noticed that two of the females also used bottles to feed their infants.

“You have switched to the nutritional formulas?” he asked Abigail.

“Yes. Cassie wanted to be able to feed her baby herself, and Amber volunteered to feed Lily so that TeShawna could concentrate on her own daughter.” She looked at Jedan, who was intently focused on Ginger, and laughed. “I think Jedan may encourage Elaina to let him try bottle-feeding soon as well.”

“It is a… special feeling to provide for one’s child,” he agreed.

He thought of mentioning to Jedan that continuing to bond with Elaina’s children might add to his sorrow when he was separated from them, but he decided that the man must make his own decisions.

The only dark spot was the youngest pregnant female. Her pale face and despondent posture worried him. She had taken only a minimal role in the meal preparation, apathetically feeding chunks of vegetables into a slicer. Abigail, too, gave the girl concerned glances and left him for a while to cajole the girl into eating a few bites.

“I’m so worried about her,” she said when she returned. “I’m almost ready to throw one of Ribel’s shirts over her and see if that will make her eat.”

His young ensign had chosen to stay away from the females entirely, deliberately taking other assignments during meal times, but Hrebec had noticed that he also looked pale and unhappy.

“Perhaps we should consider letting them spend some time together,” he said hesitantly.

“What if it makes it worse?”

“Could it be much worse?”

She followed his gaze and shook her head. “I don’t know. You might be right. I thought she would have moved on to someone else by now. Honestly, I’m surprised she wasn’t attracted to Inzen.” His chief engineer stood next to Cassie, holding Angel carefully and beaming with delight. “He has that older, protective air she’s always responded to in the past.”

“If it is a true bond, there is no substitution.”

She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with unspoken emotion. “I know, Hrebec. I know.”

The evening passed in a blur of bottles and bedtimes stories, in what he recognized had already become a familiar routine. His chest ached as he finally joined Abigail in the front room after they took turns preparing for bed. Despite that, his body responded immediately to the sight of her waiting for him, dressed once again in the alluring white nightgown.

“You are a vision of loveliness, my ma… my flower.”

He knew she caught his slip, but she let it go, surveying him appreciatively as she scanned his bare chest and the loose sleep pants that did nothing to disguise his erection.

“You look pretty good yourself.”

Joining her on the couch, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her until all he could taste was her, until he felt her essence surrounding him. She squirmed against him, rubbing the hard points of her nipples against his chest. He lowered her back so he could take a turn teasing the tempting peaks, while his tail slipped under her gown. The narrow dimensions of the furniture didn’t allow him to spread her out as fully as he wished.

“I need a larger couch,” he said, thinking somewhat wistfully of the big bed in the next room.

“Or a bed we don’t share,” she agreed, arching her back as his tail teased her swollen clit.

“Yes. As much as I love having my fam… having all of you with me, it would be nice to sleep with you alone in my arms, so that I could turn to you in the night and wake you with pleasure.”

Damn, his feelings kept trying to slip out and once again, he knew that she had noticed. She didn’t say anything, simply raising her hand to caress the lamella curving back across his skull.

Determined to ignore the ache in his throat, he moved off the couch, kneeling in front of her and using his shoulders to part her legs. Her delicate