Odin (Alien Adoption Agency #5) - Tasha Black Page 0,16

made you think of it?”

“Promise you won’t laugh?”

“No promises,” he said, but his eyes were twinkling.

“She was a superhero in these comic books I used to like,” she said.

“Beyond Terraforma,” he said, looking up from his work.

“Yes, how did you know?” she asked.

“I liked them too,” he admitted. “But if you tell anyone, I’ll deny it.”

“Who am I going to tell?” she teased. “I’m just a farmer on a mountain.”

He smiled and went back to plating their dinner.

“Who was your favorite character?” she asked.

“Winston,” he said immediately.

“The mechanic?” she asked.

He nodded.

“But he’s not exactly a good guy,” she pointed out, thinking back and wondering what Odin had seen in him.

“He’s not a bad guy either,” Odin said. “He seemed… real.”

She nodded. That added up. Odin was kind of a complicated guy himself.

“Plus he had that awesome space bike,” Odin added.

“He did,” she remembered. “What did he call it?”

“Starlight Sally,” he said immediately.

“Starlight Sally,” she echoed, smiling at the memory.

“Dinner’s ready,” he told her. “How’s Colton doing?”

“He’s sleeping again,” she said, looking down at the little one. “You’re sure this is normal?”

“Babies from Imber sleep a lot in their first six months,” he told her. “He’s doing just what he’s supposed to.”

“That’s good,” she said, feeling better.

“Do you want to put him to bed so you have two hands for eating?” Odin asked.

“Not really,” she admitted. “But it’s probably a good idea. He had a long day.”

“Let’s find his room,” Odin said, leading the way down the hallway.

The first room they came to was a cozy nook. The floor was covered in cushions. Fairy lights hung around the alcove, providing a soft glow.

“Great place to read stories,” Odin remarked on the way past.

“I was thinking the same,” she said, peeking into the next room, which looked like a plain guest room with a blue bedspread.

“That’s my room, I think,” Odin said.

She nodded, wondering why that gave her such a pang. She hadn’t expected them to share a bed for the next twenty years.

But even the frustration of last night seemed better than the idea of sleeping without him.

She pressed onward and they reached the final door. When she opened it, her breath caught in her throat.

A spacious bedroom with a huge bed took up the entire width of the house at that end. Soft lighting showed off built-in bookcases and the circular, funnel shaped ceiling.

An alcove along the side held a cradle with a playful mobile of colorful sheep hovering over it.

“Do you like it?” Odin asked.

“It’s amazing,” she said honestly. “I’ve never seen a ceiling like that.”

“I have a theory,” Odin told her. “Let’s get the baby tucked in and we can test it.”

She carried Colton over to the cradle. It had an old-fashioned look, but she was relieved to see that it had the same sensors any modern cradle should have.

She set it on Soothe anticipating that Colton might wake up when she put him down.

The mobile began to circle lazily, and muted lights waltzed slowly around the cradle, giving just enough stimulus to distract a baby, but not enough to keep him awake.

But Colton kept sleeping hard as she placed him down and the cradle adjusted itself around his tiny form.

She pressed Alert and the lights and mobile slowed to a stop.

“If anything were to happen to him, I would know before that contraption could alert you,” Odin growled.

“Can’t hurt to have two protectors, right?” Liberty asked.

She knew dragons had highly attuned senses and all that, but she was not turning off that computerized cradle alert. It didn’t need to sleep, Odin did.

He shrugged, but she could tell his feelings were hurt.

“What was your theory about the ceiling?” she asked him, hoping to change the subject.

“Oh, right,” he said. “Come on. You have to lie on the bed to see it.”

From anyone else, it would have sounded like a cheesy pick-up move, but cheesy pick-up moves weren’t Odin’s style. He was very direct.

She crawled into bed.

“Lie on your back,” he told her.

“You’re not doing this too?” she asked.

“Sure, I’ll do it,” he said, moving to join her.

She held her breath as his weight hit the mattress. Even if she could accustom herself to his huge size, the way her whole body floated when his weight was beside her reminded her. This wasn’t just a man. This was a dragon in her bed.

“Roll over on your back,” he told her.

She rolled over and glanced at him for more instructions.

He had his big forearms folded under his head. He smiled