Free Aedian: Alien Warrior: A Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Paranormal Romance by Ashley West Page A

her stomach flip over pleasurably. “Yes,” she murmured back.
    When he kissed her, it was with careful intensity, his mouth meeting hers, lips caressing. He kissed her like he was afraid to break her, but she could feel the want behind it, could taste that he was restraining himself even though he wanted more, and she knew that it was out of consideration for her, and it warmed her.
    In return, Roxy pressed up into it, kissing him harder and gripping at the front of his shirt with her hands, breathing going ragged the longer they kissed.
    They might have gotten more heated, their hands already starting to grab at each other, if it weren’t for the sound of someone clearing their throat in the doorway.
    Roxanne lurched away from Aedian, banging her hip on the counter in her haste. She looked up to see her father standing there, looking bewildered and a little afraid. She didn’t think he’d ever been this close to one of the Calphesians by choice, and especially he’d never seen one practically pawing at his daughter in his home.
    It struck her as funny that she and Aedian were expected to get married and yet he’d never met her parents.
    She cleared her throat and placed a calming hand on Aedian’s arm, feeling his agitation there under the surface. “Dad, this is Aedian,” she said.
    “I gathered,” he replied, voice faint. “Hello.”
    “Aedian, this is my father,” Roxanne continued, stressing the last word in an attempt to make him see that it was important for him to be polite.
    Apparently respect for fathers was something that Calphesians understood because Aedian inclined his head in a gesture she’d never seen him make before. “Hello. An honor to meet you.”
    “Uh...likewise?” Alan said, glancing between the two of them in a clear ‘what is happening’ gesture.
    “Aedian came here to apologize,” Roxy explained to him. “For what happened.”
    “Ah. Well. That’s good.”
    “Your daughter is strong,” Aedian said. “You should be proud of her.”
    Roxanne smiled, surprised, and her father nodded. “I am. Proud of her. She’s a hell of a girl. I’m glad you can see that.” He hesitated and then shook his head. “Would you like to stay for dinner? Seems strange that we’ve never really sat down and talked to the uh...man our daughter is marrying.”
    Aedian blinked and looked to Roxanne, who was just as surprised. She shrugged and then nodded, and Aedian smiled uncertainly. “Thank you,” he said. “I would like that.”
    And honestly, her life just kept getting more and more bizarre.
     

Chapter 7: The Natural Progression
    Dinner with humans was an...odd affair, to say the least. Aedian had very limited experience with humans this close, aside from Roxanne, he’d never really spent more than a few minutes in their company, and generally preferred to keep it that way.
    Humans were different from Calphesians, there was no getting around that, but sitting there in that kitchen with Roxanne and her family, Aedian was forced to think about whether the differences were all bad.
    Yes, they were smaller and inherently weaker, but they had strengths that Calphesians never had.
    They had a closeness that none of his people could boast, and emotional support, which was something Aedian had never had. Too many of his kind grew up without parents for one reason or another, and seeing the way the family unit worked on Earth made him think that it was a shame that he’d barely known his own family before they were killed.
    There had been a lot of laughter, and though it had taken some time for them to warm up to him being there, a large, unwieldy presence in their kitchen, they’d included him in their stories and jokes as the night progressed, and more and more Roxanne had turned that smile on him, her eyes warm and delighted.
    When it came time for the evening to end, Aedian had stood at the door, prepared to take his leave without Roxanne. He hadn’t come to try and force her to come