Claimed by the Alien Bodyguard - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,32

again. Their suffering had become his. But…Gabriela and Ana were here. They were with him. That meant he could better protect them. That meant he could ensure they had all they needed, that they’d never have to worry about anything again.

Protector. Provider. Mate…and father?

Broxen sat up, casting aside the blanket, and swung his feet onto the floor. He propped his elbows on his thighs, bowed his head, and ran his hands back over his horns, dragging his hair out of his face.

“I could’ve waited,” he rasped.

He’d never wanted Gabriela and Ana to lose everything to become his. He’d wanted it to be a natural—if inevitable—process. But fate, or the universe, or whatever damned unseen force it was that called the shots had done this instead. Without having had any time to prepare, Broxen had two females in his house.

Catching his hair in his fists, he tugged on it, barely noticing the sting in his scalp. “Kruk.”

There were two humans in his house.

His mind raced, and his tail lashed across the couch cushions, striking with dull thumps. Was everything hidden? Had he left anything in plain sight that Gabriela and Ana might recognize as alien in origin?

How the hell had he failed to think about that before inviting them into his home, before giving them use of his bedroom? It would’ve taken two or three minutes to do a quick sweep and ensure everything was in order—to ensure everything looked human.

He stood up and strode toward the bedroom, heart pounding and tail flicking back and forth stiffly. He hadn’t brought much to Earth. The most important device—the neural transceiver with its connected holoshroud—was inside his brain, and the calathas in the first aid kit could be explained away, but he also had a few advanced weapons and a hacking device that didn’t look like anything he’d seen on Earth in his stockpile. Though he usually kept everything hidden in the crawlspace, he sometimes took the items out for maintenance…

But he’d been in an odd mood lately, and he couldn’t fully trust that he’d taken the necessary precautions. If his females found something, if they discovered that he wasn’t human…

Broxen would lose them.

Sure, being exposed had other consequences. Human entertainment hadn’t exactly instilled him with confidence that Earth’s governments would treat him well if they discovered what he was. Then there was the matter of this planet having been declared off-limits by intergalactic law, and the fact that there was a price on his head back on Turata. News of a lone omnyrian hiding out on Earth could catch the attention of the enemies he’d left behind.

Holding his breath, he grasped the bedroom doorknob and cracked open the door as slowly and quietly as he could, wincing at the faint click of the latch. The sound of the fan in the bedroom became more immediate.

He braced a hand on the doorframe and leaned forward to peer through the gap.

His eyes fell on the bed immediately, where Gabriela was curled up in the heavy blanket, holding Ana close. Only their heads were visible, and they were motionless save for the slow rise and fall of the blanket with their breathing. Gabriela was holding Ana as though the little girl were the most precious thing in the universe.

Not long ago, Broxen wouldn’t have understood that. Maybe he still didn’t, not entirely…but he was coming to understand.

He opened the door a little more so he could get a better look at Gabriela. In sleep, her worries had faded, and her expression had eased in a way he’d never seen. Even when she’d smiled and been kind, even when she’d seemed happy, there’d always been that tiny flicker in her eyes—there’d always been a hint of the weight she carried. There was none of it now.

Whatever his reasons for opening the bedroom door had been, Broxen forgot them in that moment. Gabriela was beautiful, and Ana was…what was the word? Adorable? Cute? Even with a dictionary implanted in his brain, it was often difficult to find out the right words to say in this convoluted language humans called English, but that didn’t matter.

Because he was looking at his reasons right now—he was looking at his purpose. He wanted to lie in that bed at night, holding Gabriela in his arms, her body tucked against his. He wanted to breathe in air that was perfumed only by her scent. He wanted to feel her warmth, her softness, her breath on his skin. He wanted to see her