Claimed by the Alien Bodyguard - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,5

sometimes called a broken heart.

He placed the ice cream on the counter, slipped the spoon into his mouth to suck off the lingering ice cream and peanut butter, and put the lid on the carton.

“Not rejected,” he mumbled around the spoon. “Not sad.”

His heart didn’t even hurt—though there was a tightness in his chest that had persisted since he’d approached Gabriela earlier.

Broxen returned the ice cream to the freezer and stepped to the sink to clean the spoon, shaking his head at himself along the way. After everything he’d been through in his life, after everything he’d endured, everything he’d done, his time here on Earth should’ve been the easiest. This planet—or at least this region of it—was the calmest, quietest place he’d ever been. The humans were largely oblivious to the universe at large.

They were oblivious to the non-humans living amongst them.

But apparently the threat of being pummeled, bludgeoned, stabbed, or shot in his old life had been much easier for Broxen to face than the chance of being rejected by a tiny female human, or else he would’ve tried to approach Gabriela much sooner.

Tiny female. Kind, passionate, beautiful female.

He dried his hands on the dish towel hanging under the sink and returned to the front window, taking his customary place on the right side.

The ground outside was blanketed in thick snow, making the black asphalt of the road stand out starkly; that road had felt like an uncrossable chasm for so long.

And that was ridiculous.

Broxen had spent most of his life in the service of one of the most powerful crime families on Turata. He’d done bad things. He’d stolen, he’d hurt people. He’d killed. He’d been wounded more times than he could count, and he had caused far more wounds than he’d received. Why should he feel this way about a fucking road?

Zorak akai, he’d walked across that road many times during the year he’d lived here. He’d helped clear out Gabriela’s driveway and unbury her car after snowstorms, had helped her tear down and chop up a dead tree in her back yard last spring, had given Gabriela her mail that had been mistakenly put in his box. He’d even helped little Ana fix the chain on her bike a few times this past summer.

Every time he’d gone over there, he’d wanted to tell Gabriela of his interest in her. He’d wanted to express his desires. He’d wanted to do what he’d done today—but he’d never known how. Apparently, he still didn’t know.

He tugged his phone from his back pocket and checked the time. Gabriela had left twenty-two minutes ago. She’d be back soon.

What was troubling her?

In his old life, long before he’d become a bodyguard in a dangerous underworld, Broxen had learned to assess threats. That often came down to knowing how to read people—not so easy when he was always dealing with varied alien species. In his experience so far, human emotions were often quite easy to read, but their motivations never were.

Though he knew Gabriela was upset, he had no idea why, and he didn’t know how to even begin guessing.

Returning the phone to his pocket, he clasped his hands behind his back, leaned his shoulder against the wall beside the window, and shoved his thoughts aside. He forced his tail to unfurl, easing its tip to rest just above his ankle. It was time to just wait. No more racing mind, no more worries, no more doubt.

At least not for a little while.

When he finally heard the whisper of tires on the wet road, it seemed too soon. He checked his phone again; Gabriela had been gone for exactly thirty minutes. Her previous best time was thirty-two.

She left late today. Missed the rush.

He turned his attention back to Gabriela’s home just as her car pulled into the driveway. The brake lights flared for a moment before going dark. Broxen eased aside slightly, hiding as much of his body behind the window frame as possible.

Broxen doubted anyone would be able to see in through the window from outside, but the extra caution couldn’t hurt. He had plenty to hide, and from what he understood, humans didn’t like being watched.

The passenger door of Gabriela’s car swung open.

Broxen clenched his fists, pressing his claws into his palms.

Ana darted out of the car first, rushing toward the house until a call from her mother stopped her in her tracks. The little girl spun on her heel, hurried back to the car, and slammed the door shut.