Free Avelyn and the Alien Daddy (Intergalactic Brides 3) by Jessica Coulter Smith

Matching shoes.” She stuck a leg out and pointed her foot. A long, curvy leg and a small, delicate foot with some sort of strappy thing attached to it. He had to admit, the shoe gave him naughty ideas… of stripping her bare except for those shoes.
    “You actually go out in public in that?” he asked, not sure he liked the thought.
    The smile dimmed from her face. “You don’t like it.”
    Not like it? He liked it so much, he wanted to remove it from her body -- with his teeth -- but he wasn’t sure he should tell her that. She’d obviously gone to a lot of trouble to dress up for him and here he was making her feel bad.
    “I’ll take it off and return it,” she said, a dejected look on her face as she turned from him.
    Thrace reached out and placed a hand on her arm, turning her to face him. He stepped closer, curled his fingers under her chin and lifted her face. There was uncertainty in her eyes and he wanted to erase it, but he was a little nervous. He wanted to kiss her, more than anything, but what if he wasn’t any good at it? He didn’t exactly have a lot of practice.
    “I like the dress, Avelyn. A little too much. What I don’t like is the idea of other men seeing you dressed in it.”
    Thrace lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. Just a gentle brush. He did it again and felt her melt against him. As her lips parted, he deepened the kiss, curving an arm around her waist and pulling her tightly against his aching body. His cock throbbed in his pants as the softness of her back brushed against his skin. It was so easy to imagine her naked, spread out before him like a buffet. And feast on her he would! All damn night if she’d let him.
    He felt her hands fist his leather vest as her curves pressed against him. He wanted her touch so badly he ached for it. Thrace pulled away, knowing if he didn’t stop now, nothing would keep him from stripping her and taking her right there on the living room floor. He didn’t think they’d even make it to the couch; he wanted her that badly. He’d been tormented with dreams of her nightly since their first meeting and now he was so close to making it a reality -- if he didn’t screw up.
    “I should shower and change.” Was that his voice? He cleared his throat. “You spent a lot of time getting dressed up. I’d hate for us not to make it out of the suite tonight.”
    “I wouldn’t exactly call it a loss if we didn’t,” she said, a soft smile curving her lips. “But yes, it was a lot of work to look this way and I’d like to enjoy it a little bit longer.”
    “I’ll hurry.”
    He walked away while he still could and closed his bedroom door behind him. He pulled his light gray leather pants out of the closet, tossed them over the foot of the bed and then flipped through the silk tunics he owned, which were few. He selected a soft teal and placed it on the bed with the pants before stripping out of his clothes. His shower was the fastest in the history of showers, and he made sure every knot and tangle was out of his hair after drying it and then braided it.
    He typically didn’t wear artificial scents, but someone had gifted him with a nice bottle of cologne. He spritzed a bit on his neck and wrists, hoping Avelyn liked it. The female who had given it to him as a thank-you had winked and said it smelled divine, had even tried to get him to put some on right then. Of course, he wasn’t entirely certain she hadn’t wanted him to wear her too.
    In the bedroom, he quickly dressed, but paused over his boots. He couldn’t wear work boots with his nice clothes, but he hated the dressier ones required at banquets and such. They tended to pinch his toes. Then again, what was a little pain if he got to spend a nice evening out with Avelyn? He’d called to make a reservation at what he had been assured was a top-notch seafood restaurant. He hoped she liked shellfish and wasn’t allergic, he hadn’t thought to ask.
    He paused with his hand on the