Hazel and the Alien Biker (Intergalactic Brides 5) (12 page)

His heart was breaking. “I love you too, Nikki, but we need to give your mom a little more time. I don’t know why she doesn’t want to be with me, but I can’t force her to love me. And it wouldn’t be fair of me to ask her to stay with me if she didn’t think she could ever love me. Everyone deserves the chance to fall in love. Especially your mother.”

“I want her to love you and I want us to be a family. I know Winnie and Abby want the same thing. And it’s not just because you took us shopping. You’ve been nicer to us than anyone ever has, except Mom.”

“Nikki, if the decision were mine, I would make the four of you my family, but I can’t force her to be with me. If she decides she doesn’t want a future with me, saying goodbye to the four of you will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

She looked up at him. “Even harder than losing your other wife?”

He slowly nodded. “Even harder than that. The truth is I wasn’t a very good mate to her. I didn’t love her like I should have and that’s something I’ll always have to live with, but I’d like the chance to do things the right way this time. I fall in love a little more with your mother each day. I’d be the luckiest male on Earth if she chose to be with me.”

“Will you tuck me back into bed?” Nikki asked.

“I’d be happy to.”

He rose with her in his arms and carried her to the second bedroom, where he laid her on the bed then drew the covers over her. On impulse, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, much the way he’d seen Hazel do on occasion. Nikki beamed up at him, then turned onto her side and closed her eyes.

When he entered the living room, Hazel stood in their bedroom doorway with tears streaking her cheeks. Were all of his girls going to cry tonight?

“Did you mean it?” she asked softly.

“Did I mean what?”

“Everything.” Her cheeks flushed. “I woke up when you left the bed and I listened at the door. I heard your entire conversation with Nikki.”

He clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides. “I didn’t mean for you to hear any of that.”

“You’re good with her. With all three of them.” She moved closer. “Did you really not love your mate?”

“I know that doesn’t make you want to take a chance on me, but no, I didn’t.”

“You told Nikki you’re falling in love with me. How do you know you love me if you didn’t love your mate?”

“Because I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. If you leave, I’ll be heartbroken, but I don’t want you to stay unless it’s what you really want to do.”

She nibbled on her lip and looked like she was thinking very hard about something. He knew the moment she’d made her decision because she gave herself a little nod then took a deep breath.

“You really want the girls to be yours?” she asked. “Enough to get their dad to sign away his rights and you adopt them?”

He was surprised by her question. “Of course, but is that what you want?”

“I think we should leave the girls here and go to Vegas and get married. If we take them with us, I don’t know that there would be much for them to do, and I think we need a little alone time.”

His jaw dropped. “We should do what?”

“I said we should get married.” She fidgeted. “I think we should become a family.”

“Hazel, are you doing this because it’s what you want or because it’s what Nikki wants?”

“I… care about you, Reyvor. I can’t say I love you, but I think I will in time. You’re great with the kids, and you take care of me even when I’m stubborn and butting heads with you. If you still want to marry me, I would be honored to be your wife.”

“You’re sure this is what you want?”

She nodded.

“Then I’ll see if the girls can stay with Victoria and Xonos while we’re gone. Or maybe Thrace and Avelyn would like to have them. They’ve been trying to get permission to adopt from the Intergalactic Adoption Agency. Their daughter Lily is adopted, and they’re great with her, but they both would like a larger family and Avelyn is unable to have kids.”

“And you’d trust them with the girls?”

“I’d trust Thrace with my life. He works security for the Terran station and Avelyn stays home with, Lily. I have to tell you… Lily isn’t a Terran or a human. Her looks are startling. She’s red with black hair. And has fangs.”

“I’m sure she’s wonderful.” Her look said she wasn’t so certain. “I look forward to meeting your friends. Nikki and Winnie are good around small children, but Abby hasn’t been around someone younger than her before. I’m sure she’ll be a good girl though.”

“We should get some sleep. I’ll just make a quick call to set up the jet for tomorrow and see if Thrace can watch the girls.”

Hazel backed toward the bedroom. “I’ll be waiting for you in bed then.”

After she’d disappeared into their room, he picked up his cell phone off the end table and quickly called Thrace. When his friend answered, he sounded less than pleased to be receiving a call so late.

“Whoever this is had better be dying,” Thrace growled into the phone.

“Not dying, but I do have a really important question for you.”

“Reyvor?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I don’t know if word is out yet, but I have a woman and her three daughters living with me. We’re, um, getting married. Tomorrow. In Las Vegas.”

“Congratulations. I wasn’t aware you’d been seeing anyone.”

“It’s… we haven’t known each other long. The point is I need someone to watch the girls, and I thought since Avelyn and you wanted more children you might not mind having a little practice. I’m not really sure how old the girls are, but they’re all old enough to go to school.”

Thrace was silent.

“Are you still there?” Reyvor asked.

“I’m here. Give me a minute to talk to Avelyn. Don’t hang up.”

Reyvor waited patiently, listening to the murmur of their voices on the other end of the phone. If the squeal he heard was any indication, Avelyn was rather excited about watching the girls.

“We’ll do it,” Thrace said. “When are you bringing them?”

“I’m in the same hotel as you, just in a small suite. We can bring them up in the morning. Eight o’clock okay? I’d like to have the jet ready to leave by nine at the latest.”

“Eight is fine. Lily is usually up by seven, so that will give us time to feed her and get her dressed.”

“Thank you, Thrace. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He ended the call then quickly made arrangements to have the jet ready the next morning. Once he was finished, he set his phone down and went to bed, pulling Hazel into his arms before he closed his eyes.

The next morning, the girls ate quickly then showered and dressed. If Hazel had thought they would be upset about being left behind, she’d have been wrong. They weren’t only excited about getting a new daddy, but they were going to get to play with a baby for the next two days. Well, maybe not exactly a baby. Reyvor had told them Lily was two, but she was still small enough the girls would have a good time playing with her.

As they approached the hotel room of Reyvor’s friends, Hazel realized she was nervous. What if they didn’t like her? What if they thought she was a gold digger? What if…

Reyvor knocked on the door and a moment later a pretty blonde answered. She smiled and threw her arms around Reyvor, making a spike of jealousy hit Hazel.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” The blonde turned her mega-watt smile on Hazel. “And you must be the woman Reyvor is marrying. I’m Avelyn, Thrace’s mate.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Hazel shook the woman’s hand. “I’m Hazel. And these are my daughters, Nikki, Winnie, and Abby.”

“Come in!” Avelyn stepped back, allowing them into the room.

Hazel’s eyes widened when she saw how much larger the suite was compared to theirs. Although, if there were three bedroom suites, why hadn’t Reyvor asked for one when they came to the hotel? He had to have known two bedrooms would be cramped with five people. Unless…

She whirled to face him, hands planted on her hips. “You did it on purpose!”

“I did what on purpose?” he asked, looking somewhat taken aback.

“Our suite. You knew there was no way I’d be able to share the bed with three girls. You asked for a two bedroom on purpose.”

His cheeks flushed a darker purple. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Another purple alien, Thrace she assumed, was laughing with loud guffaws, his hand on his belly, and Hazel knew she was right. He’d planned the entire thing! But, if he’d planned it…

“You wanted us to be a family before we came to this hotel, didn’t you?” she asked softly.

“Yes, I did. Have you changed your mind about getting married?”

“No. I still very much want to marry you. Maybe even more now than I did before.”

Thrace seemed amused by Reyvor’s confusion. “Don’t even try to understand. Women are a complete mystery. Even if you’re mated the next twenty years, she’ll still surprise you every day.”

A little red girl toddled over and grabbed Avelyn’s leg.

Hazel knelt to the little girl’s level. “You must be Lily. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Lily buried her face against Avelyn and Hazel stood up, not wanting to distress her. The girls came forward and Abby sat on the floor beside Lily. The little alien girl gazed at Abby in curiosity before sitting beside her.

“Want to play?” Abby asked Lily.

Lily nodded and toddled off toward one of the bedrooms.

“She wants you to follow her,” Avelyn said. “That’s her room. As for you three, I thought you might like a campout in the living room until your parents come home. I’ve already asked for three cots to be sent up.”

“Don’t worry about the girls,” Thrace said. “They’ll be well taken care of. I’m sure Avelyn will spoil them rotten, just like she does with Lily.”

Avelyn elbowed him in the gut. “Hush before Hazel thinks badly of me.”

Watching their easy banter set Hazel at ease. It was obvious they loved one another, and she could see Lily was well taken care of. And if Reyvor trusted them with the girls, then so should she. Hazel knew he would never do anything to put them in danger.

They made their goodbyes, hugging and kissing the girls, and thanking Avelyn and Thrace one more time, then Reyvor rode them to the Terran station on his bike.

The metal beast thrummed between Hazel’s thighs, and she loved the feel of the wind in her hair. She held tight to Reyvor, loving the feel of being pressed against him. His scent wrapped around and she rested her cheek on his back. The ride was over all too soon and he parked behind the Terran station. He pulled their small bag from the saddlebags on the bike then took her hand and led her inside.

“I thought we were going to the airport.”

“We are, but I have to make one stop first. Then I’ll get a limo to take us to the airport so I don’t have to worry about the Harley being parked there the next few days. I know it will be safe here because there’s twenty-four hour security that even watches the parking lot.”

He led her through the corridors before stopping at a desk that reminded her of the hotel lobby desk.

“Reyvor?” The alien behind the counter looked surprised to see him. “What are you doing here?”

“I need a photo ID. I looked up marriage requirements for Las Vegas this morning and it says I need a photo ID.”

Hazel poked him in the side. “You mean to tell me you’ve been driving that bike all over the place with no license?”

He grinned down at her. “They aren’t required for my kind.”

She snorted, but waited while he dealt with getting a photo ID. Once he had one, he led her to an area where several limo drivers were reading magazines or sipping coffee. It only took him a moment to arrange transportation for them and then they were off to the airport.

They didn’t have to go through the same security measures as everyone else since they had a private jet waiting. Or maybe it was because Reyvor was a Terran and they were too worried about pissing him off. Either way, they were quickly ushered through the airport and out to the waiting jet. Hazel had never been on a plane and she was surprised by the interior. The seats were a soft leather and there was a large screen mounted on the wall where a movie played.

A human woman in a uniform smiled when she saw Reyvor and sashayed toward them. When she placed her manicured fingers on Reyvor’s arm, Hazel felt the sudden urge to rip them off and feed them to her. The glare she was shooting at the woman only seemed to amuse Reyvor.

“Amy, if you wish to keep your hand, you may want to remove it before my mate tears it off.” He smiled while speaking, then winked down at Hazel.

Amy jerked her hand away and flushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d taken a mate. I’d hoped…”

She didn’t have to say anything further. Hazel knew exactly what this woman had hoped. Reyvor led Hazel over to a seat so plush and rich she thought she might not ever stand again. As she watched the movie, she listened to Reyvor order drinks for them. She didn’t know how long it would take to reach Vegas, but if you had to travel by air, this was the way to do it.

* * *

Las Vegas was different from anything Hazel had seen before. She’d lived in a city her entire life, but she’d never been anywhere as crowded as this before. And the buildings… so many buildings! It hadn’t taken them long to get a marriage license, even though the clerk had gawked at Reyvor the entire time. They’d checked into the Mandarin Oriental, then Reyvor had insisted on them purchasing wedding clothes. He’d taken her to a nice boutique and told her to pick anything she liked.

It had only taken one look around the shop to see the dress she wanted. It was long and a silvery white with a sequined floral pattern. Spaghetti straps held it up and the bodice dipped into a low V. They only had one in her size and it fit perfectly. Then she’d found a gorgeous pair of shoes that went with it perfectly. Reyvor had refused to let her see the total and he’d shooed her outside while he paid. Next, they’d purchased a suit and shoes for him.

Their hotel room was gorgeous and had a wonderful view. It wasn’t one of their large suites, even though he’d offered to get one for them. To Hazel, it was still magical, if for no other reason than it was just the two of them. Once she was showered and dressed in what was to be her wedding gown, he informed her he’d made an appointment for her with the salon downstairs. She was giddy as she rode the elevator down. She’d had haircuts before, but never at a fancy salon.